Party Crashers
by Lil Badger 101
Summary: When Greg, Morgan and Nick get sent to a scene they end up crashing a Judges Party and start to uncover a dark plot which could put a lot of people in danger, Including the CSI's. Whole team fic including Finn who i think is awesome! hope you enjoy! xx
1. Chapter 1: False Alarm?

**A/N: Hey guys, I'm back with my next multi chapter story! I hope you enjoy, there's plenty of drama and friendship with a little angst thrown in for good measure. Main focus in the first few chapters are on Nick, Greg and Morgan as they are my new favourite trio! However Russell, Sara and Finn are also in there too (I love Finn and think more stories should include her!)  
Please also note Greg does have a crush on Morgan but it's not as big as in the show and this will not turn into a romantic piece. **

**This Chapter Greg, Nick and Morgan go to a crime scene only to be in for a bit of a surprise…**

**Please Review :) xx**

* * *

**Chapter 1: False Alarm? **

"Greg!" Came Russell's usual shout from down the corridor, but Greg was adamant he was going to sit and eat his sandwich as it was the first break he'd gotten all day after pulling an extremely busy double shift.

"Greg didn't you hear me?" Russell said suddenly appearing at the break room door, this guy was everywhere, Greg was just centimetres from taking the first bite of food he'd had in over twenty four hours. "Come on you can eat later, we're having a family meeting" Russell urged coming forward and grabbing Greg's arm yanking him from his seat and dragging him out the room, Greg made slight whimpering noises like an upset puppy as his food left his sight.

Russell brought Greg into his office where Finn, Sara, Nick and Morgan were already sat waiting. Greg perched himself on the arm of the sofa that Finn and Sara were sat on and Russell picked up some papers before leaning back on his desk.

"Ok gang assignments for tonight" Russell said sifting through the papers "We got a high profile case, robbery of some very expensive jewellery at Judge Walters's house, needs three people. A suicide which I guess only needs one person and a homicide in Henderson for two people. So, any preferences?"

"I'll take the suicide if that's cool" Sara said yawning "I haven't slept in ages and it'll probably be the quickest and easiest"

"Alright then" Russell said taking note and handing Sara the sheet, she left the room. "Greg, how about you?"

"I really don't mind" Greg said shaking his head and giving his stomach a light punch to stop it from growling "Just tell me who I'm working for"

Russell put the pen he was holding in his mouth and chewed it lightly as he appeared to be thinking "you know what, I want you to take charge in the Judges case" he said smiling at Greg.

"Really?" Greg said surprised "I mean I don't think that's a good idea…I never get given the lead in big cases like that, you should give it to someone else…"

"Why?" Morgan asked giving Greg a smile "you're a great CSI, I'd be happy for you to lead me in a case" she said sincerely and Greg smiled back, she never failed to make him feel better.

"Exactly" Russell said waving the pen at Greg "Greg, Nick has told me a lot about the way you used to act around here…" Greg gave Nick an unimpressed look. Nick just slumped down in his chair and suddenly found the wall rather fascinating "so I know that you have a lot of confidence in yourself" Russell said.

"Yeah well I'm not really down with the whole leadership thing, especially in such an important case for an important person, I know I'll screw up" Greg confessed.

"How _do_ you know that unless you try?" Finn spoke up putting her hand on Greg's arm. He smiled at her, that was just like something Catherine would say. He missed Catherine but Finn was the best replacement they could have asked for.

"I guess you're right" Greg sighed and then he rolled his eyes "Ok I'll do it."

"Awesome" Russell said with a smile taking note and then handing him the sheet "You can take Nick and Morgan for your team, if they're happy with that"

"Absolutely" Morgan smiled, just the way she did so made Greg's heart flutter.

"May I just point out that I have been a CSI for much longer than Greg and therefore have earned the right to lead the high profile cases…"Nick said, everyone frowned at him "but I would be happy for Greg to lead me because even though he hasn't been doing the job as long as me, he's a damn good CSI and can keep his cool in any situation" Greg gave Nick an appreciative look.

"Great" Russell said clapping his hands together "guess that leaves me and you with the homicide Jules, how romantic."

Finn glared at him getting up from the sofa and putting her hands on her hips "Look _Diebenkorn"_ she said patronizingly and Russell stuck his tongue out at her "Next time you call me Jules and I just so happen to have a gun at my hip, I will not be held responsible for my actions."

"You just got severed" Greg said laughing at Finn and they gave each other a swift high five.

"That's what DB stands for?" Nick asked as both he and Morgan tried hard to supress their laughter.

"Yes alright thank you…Finn" Russell had to say with some force and Finn gave him a grateful nod. "Ok so any questions?" Russell asked.

"Yeah" Greg said raising his hand "If this guy has any food in his fridge, can I eat it?" he asked hopefully. Everyone just laughed at him, Greg frowned, he was being serious…

"Scram you crazy kids" Russell said shooing them out the door.

"You guys go ahead and gather your stuff, I'll catch up" Greg said to Nick and Morgan.

"Yes sir" Morgan said as she and Nick both gave him salutes.

Greg ran back to the break room to see if his sandwich was still there as he felt like he would pass out any minute if he didn't eat. He ran to the door and found Henry sat eating on the sofa.

"Dude what the hell!" Greg exclaimed slapping his hands against his thighs.

"Sorry was this yours?" Henry asked sheepishly.

"Yes" Greg said annoyed, but then he saw the opportunity to have a little fun "it's part of an experiment I was doing" he said with a crooked smile.

Henry looked down at the sandwich "what kind of experiment?" he asked quietly, his eyes widening.

"Oh well I put a bunch of maggots in there to see if…" Greg started but he was soon interrupted by the sound of Henry spitting the food into the bin and then running to the sink to get some water. Greg laughed to himself happy to have some fun in his day.

"Greggo come on!" he heard Nick call from down the corridor. Greg rolled his eyes before running to the locker room to gather his things.

He met Morgan and Nick in the parking lot. Nick was on his tip toes holding the keys as high out of Morgan's reach as possible as she was jumping up to try and get hold of them.

"Come on cowboy it's my turn to drive" she pouted eventually giving up and putting her hands on her hips "Greg tell Nick he's being hightist"

"That's not even a word" Nick jeered and Morgan punched him playfully in the shoulder.

"Nick, may I remind you that _I_ am taller than _you_" Greg said with an evil grin, snatching the keys from his hands "let Morgan drive" he said dropping them in her hands.

"You would choose her" Nick said with a roll of his eyes and this time Greg gave him a thump in the arm but not as playfully as Morgan did.

"Just stop being like a sulkily teen and sit in the passenger seat. I'm going to lay down in the back, wake me up when we get there" Greg said none jokingly as he got into the back of the car.

* * *

"Hey how come there are loads of people going into the Judges house?" Morgan asked as she pulled up "this place is a crime scene"

"I don't know" Nick said looking just as confused "they're all dressed up though, he must be throwing some kind of party?"

"Are you sure we're at the right address?" Morgan asked.

"I'm not sure now, Greg's got the sheet" he said and they both turned to look at Greg who had fallen asleep with his cheek pressed up against the window. Both CSI's sniggered.

"We better wake him up" Nick said "it'll be some task though, he sleeps like a rock"

"No problem" Morgan said with a smile and she turned and beeped the horn of the Denali really hard.

Greg awoke with a start "I was just resting my eyes!" he exclaimed and rubbed them groggily as Nick and Morgan laughed at him "very funny you guys…" he said sarcastically and then he looked out the window "what's going on?"

"We were hoping you could tell us" Morgan said still trying hard not to laugh; now Greg felt really embarrassed. The last thing he ever wanted to do was make an ass of himself in front of her. "We are at the right address aren't we?"

Greg pulled the case information out of his vest pocket and checked it "Yeah definitely" he said "let's get out and see what's going on" he instructed and the three CSI's did so.

They walked up to the front door step and tried to enter the house but a couple of the Judges huge body guards blocked their path.

"Excuse me we're from the Las Vegas crime lab" Greg explained calmly "We got a nine one one call from this house about an hour ago reporting some stolen jewellery"

"Let's see some ID" the body guard said and each CSI handed their badges over. The guards both checked all the ID cards and then shared a slight nod.

"I'll escort you to the judge" One of them said and Greg, Nick and Morgan tried to follow him as they started to push through the crowds of people. "Your honour these guys say you reported a robbery about an hour ago" the guard said rather lazily.

"Why that's ridiculous, I did no such thing!" the Judge exclaimed "I am in the middle of a very important party which will hopefully seal me a deal with the Judges of the highest power in New York!"

"But sir…" Greg started defensively but the Judge was having none of it.

"This is has to be some kind of stupid joke! I will not have you ruin this for me! Jason please escort these three off my property!" the Judge commanded and then turned away angrily.

"Hey!" Morgan exclaimed as the guard took hold of her arm and started to drag her away. She struggled trying to get free.

"Get off of her!" Greg called angrily but then the guy grabbed him too and Nick walked quickly in front.

"Now what?" Morgan asked in a huff as three CSI's stood on the side walk, she looked in the car window and tried to straighten out her hair which the guard had messed up.

"I better call Russell" Greg said rubbing his arm that the guard had had a tight grip on and pulling out his phone.

"_Russell"_ Came their bosses voice at the other end of the phone.

"Hey it's Greg, you will never believe what just happened…" and he began to explain everything to Russell who did not interrupt once hanging on Greg's every word.

"_Well I've just checked and we definitely got a very distressed call from that house. It was definitely a male voice that sounded exactly like the Judges…Listen Greg I don't normally encourage this kind of thing but you've got to get into that house and investigate"_ Russell said his curiosity taking over.

"And how are we supposed to do that?" Greg said begging for answers "he kicked us out!"

"_Well this is where your leadership skills come into play"_ Russell said, Greg could just imagine him smiling. _"You'll think of a way"_ Russell said confidently "_I know you will, report back later and tell me how it goes"_ he added before hanging up.

"We are going in right?" Morgan asked hopefully "we can't let that jerk treat us like this"

"I agree, there's something weird going on in there" Nick said "but how do we get inside?" he asked voicing Greg's thoughts.

Greg thought about this for a few minutes "Ok I got a plan but it's totally crazy" he warned.

"All good plans are" Nick said with a smile.

"We're listening" Morgan said with a crooked grin.

"Ok first thing we do is put on something a little more dressy" Greg informed them "we're going undercover."


	2. Chapter 2: Break In

**A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews and follows and just reading in general! This chapter Greg, Nick and Morgan put their plan into action and get more than they bargained for. **

**Please Review :) xx**

* * *

**Chapter 2: Break In**

The three CSI's where now at Morgan's apartment waiting for her to get ready and no surprise to Greg and Nick as the female of the group she was taking a while, although Greg came a close second. Greg had explained his plan to Nick and Morgan and they happily agreed thinking it was a good idea, but they also all agreed that if they got away with it, it would be some kind of miracle.

Nick was now wearing a black jacket and trouser combination with a white shirt and slim black tie with black dress shoes, he had his big black sunglasses in his suit pocket ready to put on as a cover up. Greg had donned a similar thing to Nick except instead of a jacket he had his sleeves rolled up and wore a black waistcoat. He had also refused to take off his converse arguing they were black and therefore close enough. He had a grey Fedora hat to complete the look and also his work camera around his neck as it was part of his character.

"Ready?" Morgan said stepping out into her living room. She wore a black cocktail dress with matching black high heels and clutch purse. Her hair fell into perfect waves and she wore bright red lipstick.

"You look amazing" Greg couldn't help but blurt out and Nick wolf whistled as Morgan laughed and spun around on the spot. The flutter in Greg's heart grew faster.

"Thanks you guys" Morgan beamed "just a little something I treated myself to with my dad's money" she added with a wink. "You two don't scrub up bad yourselves" she said looking them up and down "this is so exciting! Don't you just feel like spies out of a James Bond Film?"

"Oh definitely" Nick said with a smile straightening his tie out in the mirror.

"You have everything in your purse?" Greg asked and Morgan nodded her head confidently.

"May we escort you to the car my lady?" Nick said putting out his left arm for Morgan to link with it and Greg did the same with his right.

"You may" Morgan smiled as she linked arms with the boys and they headed out the apartment.

* * *

"Okay so we all know the plan?" Greg asked one last time as Nick pulled up the car just around the corner from the Judges house, the older and younger CSI nodded.

"Cool" Nick grinned "let's crash this party".

The three CSI's got out of the car and Greg went to check the front door of the house first from around the corner.

"Good they've changed the bodyguards" Greg observed and motioned for Nick and Morgan to come forward "You guys ready?" Nick and Morgan nodded confidently "alright, let's go" he said placing the Fedora on his head and lowering it over his eyes. Nick put on his big sunglasses and Morgan swept her hair to one side covering the left of her face. They walked up the lawn the Judges house.

"Names?" One of the guards asked as the three CSI's approached.

"Nicholas Stokes" Nick replied whilst Greg and Morgan stood straight either side of him with their hands clasped neatly behind their backs.

"You're not on the list" the guard said suspiciously and Nick folded his arms in disgust.

"Not on the list!" Greg exclaimed "not on the list, this man shouldn't even need to be on the list! I am so sorry sir" he said turning to Nick and bowing his head in shame, Nick remained pretending to be unimpressed.

"Do you not know who this man is?" Morgan said raising an eyebrow and putting her hands on her hips. The bodyguards looked somewhat dumbfounded and embarrassed as they started to believe they should know who Nick was "This is Nick Stokes, son of William Stokes who is one of the most highly respected Judges in Texas and a member of the Supreme Court!"

"Oh yes of course" the guard said getting a bit nervous "It's just you're not on the…"

"Listen, Judge Walter knows _exactly_ who I am; he and my father have been friends for years. My father sent me because he couldn't attend himself" Nick explained "I'm a journalist you see and he wants me to cover the event for the newspaper in Texas, so this Is my photographer Gregory Hojem" he said pointing at Greg who gave a slight bow "and this is Morgan Ecklie, she conducts interviews" Morgan gave a small curtsy. They had decided to change Greg and Morgan's names slightly so they wouldn't be traced but they could still be classed as true.

"Now please let us in" Greg said impatiently "Mr Stokes has already wasted some of his precious time trying to sort out this stupid mistake. His father will not be happy when he hears about this and will surely complain about Judge Walter…"

"Ok, ok" the guard said hastily "we're sorry for the mix up Mr Stokes, please go in" he said stepping aside. Nick huffed at the man as he walked passed whilst Greg and Morgan made sure to glare daggers at him.

"What a dumb ass" Morgan said as soon as they entered the house.

"I can't believe that worked" Greg said rather pleased it had gone off without a hitch so far.

"I know" Nick said excitedly "Great plan Greg!"

"Thanks…ok so whoever reported the jewellery missing said it had been taken from the safe upstairs in the Judge and his wives bedroom, we need to get up there" Greg instructed.

"There's another guard blocking the stairs" Nick pointed out.

Greg pondered this for a moment and then gave Morgan a crooked smile "Morgan you're up, think you can handle this guy?" Morgan smiled at what he was suggesting and then pretended to look insulted.

"Greg please, I think you should be asking whether this guy handle me?" She said with a wink before brushing her fingers through her hair a couple of times and readjusting her dress.

She walked towards the guard in a manner that reminded Greg of a model on the runway. Nick and Greg hung back pretending to be in deep conversation but really tried to hide their laughs as they watched Morgan out the corner of their eyes starting to flirt with the guy.

"Hey there" Morgan said sweetly clasping her hands behind her back and rocking up on her toes.

The guard smiled "why hello little lady" the man said leaning on the banister, Morgan had to bite her tongue at being called _'little'. _

"So you're the Judges bodyguard?" she asked and the man nodded proudly straightening his jacket "wow, that must mean you're really strong" Morgan said growing slower as she talked running her hand along one of the bodyguards arms.

"Sure am" The guard said seductively and flexing his muscles.

"Gee this place is really big" Morgan said looking around with wide eyes so they sparkled in the light "a…_little _girl like me could easily get lost" she pouted.

"Well how about I give you a tour?" the guard offered coming down off the step and Morgan leaned against the banister.

"Sure" she said offering the guard her hand which he kissed and Morgan rolled her eyes but then smiled as he started to guide her through the crowds of people, she gave Greg and Nick a quick nod over her shoulder which they returned before making a run up the stairs.

"Which one is the Judges room?" Nick wondered aloud as they reached the top, there just seemed to be an endless amount of rooms with hallways spiralling off in all different directions.

"Well unfortunately my ability to see through walls isn't working today…" Greg said with a sigh and Nick rolled his eyes "so I guess we'll just have to check behind each door." So with that, Greg went down the right and Nick to the left.

It was about the third door down when Greg came across the bedroom. His eyes widened, the room was an absolute mess. There was feathers all over the place from several ripped pillows, the curtain rail hung lopsided as only half of it remained on the wall and the bed sheets were just in on big heap. All the drawers, cupboards and wardrobes were open with the contents thrown all over the room. The mirror on the dresser was smashed and Greg could see all the jewellery boxes had been emptied. There was also a ripped painting on the ground which must have been concealing the now open and empty safe on the wall.

"Erm Nick…" Greg called down the hall. Nick spun round and Greg motioned for him to go over. He poked his head in the door a long with Greg.

"Whoa, did something explode in here?" Nick said before he could stop himself "Sorry" he said giving Greg a sideways glance and feeling really insensitive.

"Doesn't matter" Greg said brushing off the comment and he started to try and get into the room without standing on anything.

"Well I think it's safe to say this place was definitely robbed" Nick said placing his hands on his hips an looking around.

"Exactly" Greg said walking over to the safe "So why did the Judge deny making the call? Or did he even make the call?"

"Guys?" they heard Morgan's quiet voice call from down the corridor.

"In here" Nick called back and she soon joined them in the room.

"What the hell happened here?" she said in shock at the sight of the place.

"Oh Greg found out he'd ran out of hair gel and went on a mad rampage" Nick said and Morgan giggled.

"I honestly have no clue" Greg said ignoring Nick's comment "but we sure as hell better find out. Morgan, just out of curiosity, how'd you ditch that airhead?"

"Oh he was rambling about something I didn't care about so I just ditched him in the crowd" she said nonchalantly. "So now what do we do?" she asked "we can't just tell everyone to get out or the Judge will know we snuck in and we'll get into trouble."

"I think we should address our oh mighty leader with that question" Nick said looking at Greg, but Greg seemed to have been distracted by something under the bed.

"Hey guys you better check this out" he said lifting up the frill around the bottom of the bed. Curiously, Nick and Morgan made their way over.

"Uh oh" Nick mumbled.

"That can't be good" Morgan added.

"Yep…" Greg said with a sigh as they stared at the giant blood pool "there's definitely enough blood here to suggest we're looking for a body as well as jewellery" he said solemnly. He stood and turned to address his colleagues.

"Ok time to put our personas into action" he said clapping hand together "Team huddle" he instructed and they moved into a triangle "Morgan, pretend to conduct interviews with some of the guests for a newspaper article."

"Aye, aye Captain" Morgan said with a swift salute "do you have a list of the jewellery that was stolen?"

"Yeah" Greg said taking the case information out of his pocket and giving it to Morgan "this is what the caller reported missing. " I'll take pictures of all the guests and say it's for the article, Nick try and get DNA samples from as many people as possible. That way we can match the samples to the pictures of people I take."

"And how am I supposed to do that?" Nick asked "Hello random stranger please excuse me whilst I shove this swab in your mouth" he said sarcastically.

"Well use your imagination" Was Greg's only solution "collect drinking glasses, knives, forks, stuff like that"

"Ok, I can do that" Nick said nodding confidently.

"Alright, lets break" Greg said clapping his hands again to signify the end of the conversation. "Good luck guys" he added as they prepared to walk back down the stairs.

"You too" Morgan and Nick replied at the same time before they started their decent.


	3. Chapter 3: More Than Meets The Eye

**A/N: Thanks for reviews/ follows/Just generally reading! This chapter we look at Finn, Russell and Sara's cases and the CSI's think there may be a bigger plot at hand. Plus Nick has an idea.  
I promise the next chapter gets more interesting!**

**Please Review :) xx**

* * *

**Chapter 3: More Than Meets The Eye **

"I see your driving hasn't improved" Russell said as he placed one hand on the dashboard to steady himself as Finn left the stop lights at an alarming rate. Finn simply gave a lopsided smile.

"It's these Nevada roads" she protested "they aren't made as good as the ones in Seattle" she said with a laugh.

"Yes well they obviously weren't expecting that many people to be driving like a mad woman" Russell said rolling his eyes.

"No, this is driving like a mad woman" Finn replied as she took her hands off the steering wheel.

"Finn!" Russell cried leaning back in his seat and Finn just laughed as she took hold of the wheel again.

"Seriously, it took putting our lives in danger for you to call me Finn?" she said with a smile and a shake of her head. Russell remained silent, this woman never failed to amaze him.

They pulled up at the house in Henderson to find Captain Brass stood waiting for them. "Our victims name is Elizabeth Straus; she's thirty years old and lived with her husband Mark. He's in England at the moment though but he's getting the next flight back" Brass explained as he and the two CSI's walked into the house.

"Ok well I guess that leads us straight to square one" Finn said "I was taught to always suspect the partner first."

"Well I think that's wrong, you should never accuse _anyone _without some kind of evidence first" Russell said as he began to look over the body lying in the middle of the living room floor.

Finn rolled her eyes "are you just going to disagree with everything I say? If so I can just go and help Sara…"

"No, stay" Russell said as he squatted down beside the dead girl "however would I cope without your endless amount of wisdom."

"Yeah I knew you'd miss me" Finn smiled as she put her case down and pulled on some gloves.

"I'm going to leave you guys to it" Brass said raising his eyebrows "and I don't want to have to come back here because someone complained of a domestic disturbance" he said warningly.

Finn and Russell looked at each other in mock insult "I have no idea what he's talking about, do you D.B?" Finn said placing her hands on her hips.

"Not at all Finn" Russell said shaking his head and Brass threw his hands up in exasperation before leaving the house.

"Well COD seems pretty obvious" Finn said pointing to the knife in the girls back "but leaving the murder weapon behind was a bit messy, killer probably wasn't a professional."

Russell nodded in agreement when suddenly his phone began to ring "Russell" he answered walking outside to take the call whilst Finn started to search Elizabeth's bag which was next to her body.

"What's up?" Finn asked when Russell re-entered the house with a confused expression.

"Oh it was Greg, those kids have got themselves into a bit of a mess but they'll figure it out… what you got there?" he said pointing to the piece of card in Finn's hand.

"Well how's this for irony, Elizabeth here was invited to the party at Judge Walters house, this is her invite" Finn explained handing Russell the card.

"You know I don't believe in coincidences right?" Russell said raising an eyebrow at Finn.

* * *

Sara was back at the lab now and on her way to autopsy. Her suicide was a thirty two year old male, Harry Banks and he appeared to have thrown himself off the top of a tower block near the strip. She was just going to meet Doc Robins for autopsy hoping it would be a simple diagnosis and then she could go home. Unfortunately things never seemed to be that simple.

"What you got Doc?" Sara asked standing beside the body on the cold metal slab.

"Well I don't think this was a suicide" Robins said and Sara couldn't help but release a frustrated sigh. "Bruises are now visible around the neck area. This guy was strangled to death first and then thrown off the building."

"Alright thanks Doc, you have his personal belongings?" she asked rubbing her eyes.

"Sara don't you think you should go home?" Robin's asked concernedly as he handed Sara the box.

"No I'll be fine" Sara said, now that the case had taken an interesting turn she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep until she finished it. "All I need is a vat of Coffee" she said with a smile before leaving the room.

* * *

Russell and Finn made their way back to the lab after they'd finished processing Elizabeth's house. They were walking passed the light table room when Russell spotted Sara in there with her arms crossed on the table and her head resting on them, her eyes appeared to be closed.

"You go ahead to autopsy, I better handle sleeping beauty" Russell said indicating to Sara and Finn smiled before she continued down the hall.

Russell walked over to the light table and tapped on the glass outside, Sara's head shot up and she straightened herself out looking like a kid who'd been caught with their hand in the cookie jar. Russell entered the room and turned Sara to face him.

"Go home" he said in a way that didn't sound angry but still stern.

"But I…" Sara started but Russell put a finger to her lips and raised his eyebrows at her. Sara sighed and yawned "ok fine, I'll see you tomorrow" she said defeated before leaving the room.

Russell studied Sara's case for a while and was going through Harry's belongings when he found something that quite shocked him.

"I don't believe in coincidences" he muttered his earlier statement to himself.

Finn was just coming back from autopsy when she walked into the room to find Russell looking confused. "Uh oh" she said pausing in the doorway "this can't be good, the almighty D.B. Russell is stumped?" she said in mock disbelief "I better take a picture…"

"Please, with my good looks I'd break the lens" Russell said and Finn couldn't help but laugh. "This is what belongs to Sara's suicide victim Harry Banks, although according to the report it wasn't suicide he was strangled before being thrown off the building. " Russell explained, he picked up a piece of card from the box "he also has an invite to the Judges party" he handed it to Finn who looked at it in disbelief "and to top it off…" Russell pulled a diamond ring out the box as well.

"So the plot thickens" Finn said taking out Elizabeth's invite and comparing them. "_But _this is where it gets _really_ interesting." She said taking the lid off the box with Elizabeth's belongings and pulling out a sparkling sapphire necklace "you originally sent the kids down there to investigate a robbery right?"

"Right" Russell confirmed and he walked out and into a different room to find a computer, Finn following close behind. Russell typed away at the computer for a few moments before pulling up the file "Got it" he said placing a finger on the screen "a sapphire necklace was on the list of things stolen from the Judges house as well as a diamond engagement ring"

Finn put either of her hands on Russell's shoulder and patted them "I love it when a case gets gritty" she said excitedly.

* * *

"Hello" Greg said approaching his next couple with a broad grin "My name's Gregory Hojem and I am a photographer for Texan News. We're covering the event, may I have your picture?" he asked raising his camera and the couple nodded. They were about the twentieth couple Greg had taken a picture of as he managed to keep up his cover. "Thank you very much" Greg said after taking the picture making sure to be polite as possible.

Meanwhile Morgan was making her way over to her next table. She had a notepad tucked under her arm and a pen in one hand, a glass of champagne in the other so she looked more friendly and sociable.

"Good evening Ma'am my name is Morgan Ecklie" she said to an elderly looking woman who smiled at her "I'm a reporter for Texan News covering the event, is it ok if I ask you a few questions?"

"Why sure honey" the woman replied with a smile and indicated for Morgan to take a seat next to her.

"Thank you ma'am" Morgan said with a sweet smile.

"Oh please honey, my name is Penny, Penny Matthews" the woman said with an encouraging smile.

"So how do you know Judge Walters?" Morgan asked her pen and paper at the ready.

"Oh, Carl and I have been friends for over thirty years, we met in law school" Penny explained "I'm here for moral support and I'm very proud of his success." Morgan made a note of this.

"That's a beautiful bracelet" Morgan said causally, it was gold and had a small heart pendant on it, just like a bracelet on the list of stolen things.

"Oh Carl bought it for me actually" Penny said fiddling with the pendant "we used to be a bit of an item" she whispered "he bought it for our first month anniversary"

"Aww how sweet" Morgan said making some quick notes.

Nick on the other hand was not having as much success as the other two. He was finding it very hard to collect people's glasses and cutlery without looking weird.

"Think Nicky, think!" he whispered to himself.

"Champagne sir?" a waiter interrupted his thoughts.

"Oh no thank you" Nick said with a dismissing wave and the waiter left "wait a second…" he whispered to himself as he had a sudden realisation.

All the waiters were wearing the same thing he was minus the jacket and they had a black apron tied around their hips. Nick took his jacket off and discreetly threw it under the table. He then casually made his way over to the kitchen and walked in as if it was where he was supposed to be. He found a spare apron on the counter top and started to tie it round my hips.

"If this isn't using my imagination then I don't know what is" he muttered to himself remembering Greg's earlier statement.

"You!" one of the chiefs called, Nick realised he was talking to him so he went over and the chief dumped a platter shrimp in Nicks arms "go hand these out, go, go!" he yelled practically kicking Nick out the room.

"Jeez" Nick said, straightening his tie and then balancing the tray in one hand so he looked more like a waiter, he started to walk round the various people.

"Oh can I get some of that" a voice said from behind Nick a few minutes later and he turned to see Greg. "Nick?" Greg said in surprise "what the hell are you doing?"

"I thought if I were a waiter it wouldn't look so weird when I took peoples glasses and stuff" Nick said sheepishly and then he slapped Greg's hand away when he tried to take some shrimp "not now Greg! Take your hat and camera off and grab an apron from the kitchen and give me a hand, you can eat later!"

"Alright!" Greg said in frustration and went away clutching his stomach as he_ still_ hadn't eaten and was feeling pretty faint. "Just get this over with and go grab a burger" he told himself as he took his hat off and his camera from around his neck and placed it under the table before heading into the kitchen and picking up an apron and tray.

"Excuse me Ma'am, are you done with those?" He asked going to his first table.

"Yes…didn't you just take my picture?" the woman said suspiciously as Greg started to collect the glasses.

"Oh erm…that will have been my twin, Greg, I'm Craig" Greg lied and walked away before the woman could argue with him.


	4. Chapter 4: Danger's Looming

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews you guys, they make me smile so much :) And thanks to everyone for reading of course! The action hopefully picks up this chapter as all the CSI's seem to have got themselves into a whole load of trouble.**

**Also after writing this story I think I might be a Nick and Finn shipper, is that weird? They could be called Finicky XD **

**Please Review :) xx**

* * *

**Chapter 4: Danger's Looming **

Morgan was extremely bored now, people where just telling her the same thing and she'd only found a few people of interest whose names she had underlined. She hadn't seen Nick and Greg in a while so decided to go and stand up on the stairs so she could see over the crowds of people. She spotted the spikey sandy hair and the short black hair in the middle of the room. She gave a confused look as she was sure they looked exactly like waiters carrying trays of dirty cutlery. She made her way back down the stairs and was about to go over to the boys when the guard she had been distracting earlier approached her.

"Hey there gorgeous" he said with a sleazy smile.

"Hey" Morgan said casually and tried to walk passed him but he lent on the banister so she couldn't get by.

"So, you going to let me take you to dinner tomorrow night?" he said with a wink.

"Erm…well…you see…no" Morgan said and tried to push passed the guy but he took hold of her arm.

"Aw come on Blondie don't be like that" he said with a whine.

"Let go of me!" Morgan yelled but the guy just gripped on tighter.

"Hey!" Someone said angrily from behind the guard and pulled him to face them, it was Nick whilst Greg was stood glaring behind him with his fists clenched. "Man what do you think you're doing to my girlfriend?" Nick said getting up in the guards face; he was easily as big as the guard if not slightly bigger.

"Oh she's you're…hey look I'm sorry man I don't know…" the guard stuttered.

"You ok sis?" Greg said going over to Morgan and putting an arm around her.

"And you're her…" the guard said going paler still, if there was one thing you never wanted to be confronted with it was a girls boyfriend and her brother at the same time. "Hey look I don't want any trouble"

"Get out of my sight" Nick said through gritted teeth and the guard quickly scarpered.

"Thanks you guys" Morgan said with an appreciative smile "I'm fine" she added when Greg was giving her a concerned look.

"So, did I make a good boyfriend?" Nick asked Morgan teasingly.

"Hey any man prepared to kick another guy's ass over me is totally cool" she said raising her hands.

"Erm guys…" Greg interrupted pulling on Nick's sleeve.

"What's up?" Nick asked and Greg pointed to the security guard they had just got rid of.

He was talking to a bunch of other guards at the opposite side of the room and then pointed at the three CSI's. All the other guards turned to look at them too, one of them being the guard who had kicked Greg, Morgan and Nick out earlier.

"Hey!" he called in anger as he recognised them and they started to try and get passed the crowd.

"Crap!" Morgan exclaimed "you two grab the stuff I'll go get the car, we gotta get out of here!" she said and they split up.

Greg and Nick quickly dived under the table and started to bring out the bags and boxes they had been putting the collected items in. Greg slung his camera over his shoulder and then started to follow Nick towards the door, but then somebody bumped into him and his camera went flying.

"Shoot!" he whispered "Nick, take this stuff and I'll meet you outside I need to get my camera" Nick nodded as Greg handed the boxes over to him. Greg dropped onto the floor and started to look for the camera around people's feet.

He crawled around until he spotted it by some woman's ankle "gotcha!" he said making a grab for it and then standing up.

"Over there!" he heard someone call and he turned to see a guard pointing at him "don't let him leave!"

Greg made a dash for the door but skidded to a halt when two guards blocked his only exit. Without thinking he turned and bolted up the stairs, two more guards following him. He paused on the landing momentarily before heading for the door to his right and bursting into the room. He could see out onto the front lawn through the window. He ran to it and it took all his strength to pull it open.

"Hey stop!" One of the guards called just as Greg threw his legs out the window.

Greg grabbed hold of the drain pipe next to him and used it slide down to the ground. Just then there was a screech as Morgan came speeding round the corner in the car, Nick in the back. She came to an abrupt halt and threw the door open.

"Get in, Get in!" she said quickly making frantic gestures with her hands.

Greg sprinted across the front lawn and practically dived into the car. He slammed the door shut and Morgan immediately put her foot down. Greg tried to get his breath back whilst Morgan sped down the streets and only slowed down once they were back on the main road.

"That…was too…close" Greg breathed and slammed his head back against the headrest.

"But that was totally awesome!" Nick said sitting in the middle at the back "I don't think I've ever done anything so exciting for a case!"

"Me either!" Morgan agreed "Great idea Greg that totally rocked and we managed to get photos and have enough evidence to get a warrant for the house"

"I know" Greg said smugly "Great job guys, we make a good team"

"Team dynamo!" Nick said excitedly and Morgan and Greg laughed.

"And it wouldn't have been possible if we didn't have such a great leader" Morgan said with a smile at Greg.

"Yeah man you were ace, we're going to make sure Russell knows all about this" Nick added and Morgan nodded in agreement.

"Thanks you guys" Greg said appreciatively "Morgan, to the lab" he said with a nod of his head "Russell and Finn are not going to believe this one."

* * *

"Well guys I gotta say, that sounds really cool" Finn said leaning back in her chair.

She, Morgan, Nick and Greg were sat in the break room where for the past hour the three younger CSI's had been filling her in on what had happened. Finn was very impressed they'd managed to pull it off and really admired their team effort. She also filled them in on what she and Russell had found so they were now thinking all three cases were connected.

"This just gets better and better!" Morgan said excitedly "I mean it's bad people were killed of course" she added quickly.

Greg groaned and clutched his stomach before slamming his head on the table "Pleeease can I eat now!" he begged "or I'm seriously gunna pass out"

"Hey kids" Russell said with a smile as he entered the room carrying two large pizza boxes "thought you might be hungry after all that spying you did"

"Oh my God Russell I love you so much!" Greg said getting up and snatching a box before ripping it open and stuffing a slice in his mouth.

"Steady on Greg" Nick laughed.

"No" was Greg's blunt response "I haven't eaten in over thirty six hours, no wonder I'm so skinny, I'm wasting away man!"

"Greg share with your friends" Russell said raising an eyebrow, Greg rolled his eyes and put the box down in the middle of the table and everyone started to dig in. Nick and Morgan explained to Russell what had happened whilst Greg ate as much as he could.

"So what do we do now?" Finn asked after all the information had been shared.

"Now, the sun gunna be coming up in a few hours so we go home and rest, later we get a warrant for the judges house and we try and find what the hell is going on" Russell said.

"Sounds like a plan" Morgan beamed.

* * *

"Right, we all here?" Russell said surveying his crew, all six CSI's had come down to help as the house was ridiculously large and would take a while to process.

"Yes" the rest of the CSI's chorused.

"Great, ok let's pair up" Russell said rubbing his hands together "Nick and Finn that could be fun. Sara and Morgan, bit of girl power and that leaves me and Greg, let's see if you can teach an old dog new tricks." He said with a smile at Greg. "Alright lets split" he said finally and the CSIs went off in their twos.

Nick and Finn decided to take the kitchen and the living room where the party had been taking place last night. Nick found it strange to see it so empty and it looked a lot bigger than it did last night. Finn was just walking passed the sofa when the floorboards suddenly creaked underneath her. She paused for a moment then jumped up and down on them.

"Hey Nick" she called catching his attention "I think the floor is hollow underneath here" she stated.

"Corner of the rug is turned over" Nick pointed out taking a photo "let's roll it up" he suggested and Finn moved to give him a hand.

They pushed the big rug to the other side of the room to reveal a trap door; Nick and Finn shared a curious look before Nick pulled it open. Finn shone her torch down.

"Where do you suppose it goes?" she asked squatting down beside it.

"I don't know, this is a pretty old house so I guess it could go anywhere. But we're going to find out, you up for a little adventure?"

"Always" Finn said with a smile.

"Right, I'll go down first and make sure it's safe" Nick said putting his legs through to hole.

"Oh Nick you're such a gentlemen" Finn said with a smile "but be careful" she added worriedly.

"Always am" Nick said with a lopsided smile before dropping down through the hole, Finn heard a soft thud as he hit the ground.

"Nick!" she called "you ok?"

"Yeah!" Nick called back; he'd pulled his torch out and was looking up and down the long tunnel, he couldn't see either end but there didn't appear to be anyone else there "Coast is clear!" he called up and with that Finn dropped down beside him.

"Spooky" she said looking up and down the tunnel too.

"Well, let's see where it goes" Nick said eagerly and the pair started to walk down the dark tunnel.

They did not however notice the shadow following them…

* * *

Sara and Morgan were looking around the outside of the house trying to see if they could find an entry point for the burglar slash murderer.

"I got prints on the drain pipe" Sara said dusting away.

"Oh they might be Greg's" Morgan said and Sara gave her a funny look "he had to climb out the bedroom window and down the drain pipe" she explained.

"Wow you guys did have a good time" Sara said and took the print just to make sure "I got a shoeprint too, think it's Greg's?"

"Well Greg was wearing his converse" Morgan said coming over to look at the print "these look more like the bottom of dress shoes" Sara nodded in agreement and took a picture.

The two women continued to work blissfully unaware of the eyes watching them from a nearby car…

* * *

"Somebody cleaned up" Greg said as soon as he and Russell entered the bedroom "last night this place was totally wrecked…they even replaced the mirror" he stated.

"You said the blood pool was under the bed?" Russell asked and Greg nodded. Russell went over to look and sighed "that's gone too…but I think I got a blood drop" he said half disappearing under the bed.

There was a sudden crash that startled Russell; he jumped so fast he banged his head on top of the bed. He pulled back rubbing the back of his head.

"Greg what the…"

He stopped in his tracks at the sight of a man dressed head to toe in black with a hand around Greg's throat and the other over his mouth...


	5. Chapter 5: Danger Arrives

**A/N: Woo, thanks for reviews/reading peeps! It's official I ship Finicky ^_^ but there won't be any romance in this story just friendship :P Also I see Russell as a great father figure for the team and I hope I show that between him and Greg. This chapter, three men, three lives at risk, can the CSI's escape?**

**Please Review :) xx**

* * *

**Chapter 5: Danger Arrives **

Nick and Finn had been walking in the tunnel for about ten minutes now and they still couldn't see the end. They could only see about five feet in front of their faces thanks to their torches and could only hear the sound of their own feet crossing the cold hard ground.

"Maybe we should go back and get help" Nick said feeling a little panicked.

"Why, you're not scared of the dark are ya?" Finn said giving him a joking nudge in the shoulder.

"No, I'm claustrophobic and this paths getting pretty tight "Nick confessed.

"Oh, I'm sorry" Finn said sounding really guilty "you should have said, come on I'll take you back and get some cops to help me" she offered kindly.

They turned to go back, only to be met by the barrel of a gun being pointed in their faces.

"It would be a shame to have to go back after you came all this way" a deep voice said.

* * *

Sara and Morgan were still round the front of the house; Morgan was looking around the flowerbed whilst Sara was in the road looking for possible tyre marks from a getaway vehicle.

"Hey Sara check this out" Morgan called, Sara came over to look. Morgan picked up a shining crowbar from amongst the flowers "could have been used to gain access to the house or break open the safe" she theorized.

"Yeah nice catch, bag it and hope we get some prints off it" Sara said.

Morgan nodded and then started to make her way over to the car to get out a bigger bag to put the bar in. She had only just stepped into the road when there was the roar of a car engine starting as the pair of eyes that had been watching the two CSI's work for the past few minutes decided to jump into action.

Sara turned round just in time to see the car leave the curb edge. The driver was aiming straight for Morgan who was now in the middle of the road.

"Morgan, look out!" Sara screamed but Morgan appeared to have frozen in fear as the car kept on its course.

* * *

"Let him go" Russell instructed calmly to the man who was holding Greg.

"No" the man said bluntly and his grip around Greg's neck just got tighter, Russell could now see Greg struggling to breathe.

"We just need to talk about this, please he can't breathe" Russell argued, it was times like this he wished he carried a gun.

"Kind of the point" the man replied as Greg kicked and struggled trying to prise the man's arms off him but it was no use he was bigger than Greg.

Russell started to panic when he saw Greg's eyes starting to roll into the back of his head, he had to do something. He needed to give Greg a chance.

"Alright" Russell said calmly "I didn't want to have to do this" he said slowly reaching for his back pocket hoping to bluff the man into thinking he had a gun, it seemed to work as the man looked up at Russell wide eyed and frightened relinquishing his grip on Greg just a tad.

Greg took this distraction as his chance; he stomped down hard on the guy's foot and then kicked him in the shin. The guy recoiled releasing Greg and yelped in pain clutching at his leg. Greg spun round and punched the guy right across his jaw knocking him to the floor. He then turned the guy round so he was on his stomach and Russell pulled a pair of zipper cuffs from his pocket and attached one to the guy's wrist and the other to a bed post.

Greg stood trying to get his breath back for a few seconds put just ended up having a horrendous coughing fit. He gave Russell a worried look before going over to him and burying his head in Russell's shoulder. Russell was caught a bit off guard by this but eventually put an arm on Greg's back and the other hand on the back of Greg's head, just like he did when he was comforting his son.

"You're alright" he said comfortingly rubbing Greg's back "you're alright" he repeated. Russell looked at the guy now attached to the bed; he was still rubbing his jaw and moaning in pain. "Tell you what kid you've got a great right hook on you" he said and Greg pulled away and gave him a small smile.

* * *

"What do you want?" Finn commanded to the stranger. She was not one to be pushed around.

"Him" the man said gesturing the gun at Nick who went wide eyed.

"Why?" Finn asked as she started to slowly edge in front of Nick.

"None of your business" the man said making a lunge for Nick but Finn jumped in-between them. "Look lady get lost I have no need for you" the guy said growing impatient, he grabbed hold of Finns arm and threw her against the wall then she fell to the ground.

"Finn!" Nick called panicked and went to help her but there was a click as the man took the safety off his gun and pointed it at Nick's head. "Wait!" Nick begged "I don't want her to see this" he said squatting down beside Finn "you ok?" he asked concernedly.

"Yeah" Finn replied after she had overcome the initial shock, Nick helped her back to her feet.

"Finn you have to leave I won't let him hurt you" Nick pleaded with her.

"No!" Finn firmly protested "No I'm not leaving you!"

"Urgh this is taking too long" the man moaned getting bored.

Finn grabbed hold of Nick's hand "turn your torch off and hang one to me" she whispered, Nick nodded.

Finn mouthed 'three, two, one' and with that both CSI's flicked the off switch on their torches and Finn took the lead pulling Nick back the way they had come as they began to run in the pitch black.

"Hey!" they heard the angry man call as he began to try and stumble after them.

Finn was glad she had a very photographic memory and could easily remember each twist and turn in the tunnel even in the dark. Nick was fighting to keep hold of Finn and fearing he would fall over any second. Just as they rounded a corner there was a cry of pain and a soft thud as the man chasing them fell as he tripped over a hole in the ground.

Finn and Nick didn't even falter as they continued to pound down the tunnel until they were underneath the hole they had dropped in from.

"I'll give you a boost" Nick said and placed his hands together so Finn could step onto it. She jumped up and grabbed the sides of the hole, pulling herself back up into the living room.

"Finn?" came Russell's voice as he ran over to help her followed by Greg.

"Quick!" she exclaimed "help me get Nick up there's someone down there trying to kill him!" she said, Russell immediately jumped into action and leaned into the hole with Finn they grabbed Nick and managed to pull him up. Finn shut the door hoping to keep the man trapped down there until some cops arrived.

"Are you guys ok?" Greg asked. His voice was extremely weak and croaky before he suddenly broke into another violent coughing fit which made his throat sting terribly.

"Yeah we're fine" Nick said getting up and putting an arm around Greg comfortingly "but what happened to you, you sound awful"

Greg opened his mouth to explain when they heard Sara scream from outside.

"Morgan look out!"

* * *

Morgan stood like a startled rabbit, she was frozen to the spot with fear just watching as the car drew closer towards her. Without much thought Sara ran across the lawn and into the road. She grabbed hold of Morgan and managed to push both of them out of harm's way and land on the curb. Sara looked up in time just to catch the car's license plate as it whizzed round the corner.

"Morgan, Sara!" the girls heard Russell call their names and looked up to see the four other CSI's running towards them.

"Are you guys ok?" Finn asked franticly as she and Nick helped the women to their feet.

"Yeah we're good" Sara said as Nick gave her a hug.

"Yeah thanks to Sara" Morgan said quietly she was pretty shaken up, Greg went to put an arm around her. "Thanks so much" she said to Sara "you saved my life"

"No problem" Sara said with a smile and the girls exchanged a hug. "Greg why are you breathing funny?" she asked as she heard him wheezing.

"I was strangled by some guy" Greg explained hoarsely and then coughed again, it made the others cringe and Finn rubbed his back to see if it would help.

"Ok something's obviously going on here" Russell said "Greg nearly gets strangled to death, Nick nearly gets shot and Morgan nearly gets ran over, all at the same time."

"When Nick and I were down that tunnel the guy said he wasn't interested in me at all and only wanted Nick, he even told me to leave" Finn explained.

"Yeah, I was in the middle of the road at one point too and our guy didn't try to kill me" Sara explained "he was waiting for Morgan."

"The party" Greg said in a weak voice and they all turned to look at him "Nick, Morgan and I were at that party."

"Just like our two murder victims were supposed to be" Nick said.

Just then two cop cars arrived sirens blazing and came to an abrupt halt outside the house. Brass climbed out of one of them and came over to the CSI's; Russell had called for backup after Greg was attacked.

"We got one suspect restrained in the bedroom third door to the right and one down a trap door in the living room" Russell informed Brass.

"And I got a license plate for the car that tried to hit Morgan" Sara added.

"Alright, is everyone ok?" Brass asked scanning the CSI's for injury.

"Well I'm going to take Greg to the hospital to get his throat checked but other than that I think we're ok" Russell said and the rest of the CSI's nodded in confirmation.

"Right I'm going to take care of these guys and then we'll regroup at the lab so you can tell me exactly what happened" Brass said and went to go help the other cops.

"Ok Greg you're coming with me" Russell said and started to drag Greg to the car before he could protest.

"Some day huh?" Morgan said to Sara "Thanks again by the way, I owe you big time"

"Hanging out outside of work some time would be nice?" Sara suggested with a smile and Morgan smiled back.

"Sounds good" Morgan said.

Meanwhile Nick had taken Finn over to the side "I can't believe you stood in-between me and that psycho. And you were really going to stay with me even though you were putting yourself in danger?"

"Nick, of course I was, no man left behind right" she said giving him a playful punch in the shoulder. Nick smiled and the wrapped his arms around her in embrace as a thank you, Finn hugged him back with a smile, she was finally beginning to feel accepted into this tight knit family.

The four CSI's then watched as Greg's attacker was taken out of the house and shoved into the back of the police car with a very disgruntled look on his face. They then brought out another man kicking and screaming, they figured he must have been the one chasing Finn and Nick.

"Found him stumbling around in the dark" Brass explained "he must have fallen over and hurt his leg."

"Alright let's head back to the lab, we've got to work fast and figure this out before anyone else gets hurt. Nick you stick with me and Sara with Morgan just to be on the safe side" Finn instructed and the CSI's dispersed.


	6. Chapter 6: Guilty TalkOr Not

**A/N: Thank you for review/ reading! :) This chapter Greg and Russell make another discovery and Nick is surprised to find Greg fighting a guilty conscience. Also the CSI's probe their two captured gang members. In this chapter I wanted to capture Morgan and Ecklie's relationship as well, I mean I hate Ecklie but he really does love Morgan :P**

**Please Review :) xx**

* * *

**Chapter 6: Guilty Talk…Or Not…**

"Well Mister Sanders you're already starting to get a pretty nasty bruise and it has swelled a little, but that should go down in a couple of days and you'll be fine" the doctor informed Greg and Russell.

"Alright thank you Doctor" Russell said and Greg gave him a relieved smile.

"Do you think they'll come back for us?" Greg asked Russell as they started to drive back to the lab a few minutes later.

"I don't know" Russell replied honestly "I think maybe for the next few days you and Nick should stay together so you can protect each other and I'll see about Morgan staying with Finn or Sara" he suggested. Greg nodded thinking this was probably a good idea.

Greg and Russell remained in silence for a while. Russell tried to concentrate on driving but he had been told numerous times by Nick and Sara that if Greg was ever quiet then there was something seriously wrong. But he had also been told not to pressure Greg into telling him what was wrong as Greg would tell him when he was ready; the kid had just been on the brink of death after all.

Greg sat staring out the window lost in his own thoughts when he thought he caught something out the corner of his eye. He frowned and looked into the mirror, no that was definitely a…

"Russell pull over" he said and Russell did so wondering what was wrong. He was surprised when Greg jumped out the car and started to run back up the street.

"Greg!" Russell called after him getting out the car himself and walking quickly to catch up. Greg stopped in front of a hedge on someone's front lawn. As he approached Russell realised what it was that had grabbed Greg's attention.

"Kind of ruins the whole ensemble" Greg said pointing to the ghost pale arm sticking out of the hedge.

"And would you look at that" Russell said squatting down beside it "what a beautiful gold ring" he said observing it on the dead girls middle finger.

"And would you look at_ this_" Greg said pointing to a piece of card underneath the hedge "another invite to the judge's party."

"Let's get to work" Russell said and the pair went to collect their equipment from the car.

* * *

"Morgan!" Ecklie came running up to her as soon as she entered the lab and flung his arms around her. She rolled her eyes and gently patted him on the back, she felt kind of embarrassed with Nick, Finn and Sara stood watching.

"I'm fine dad" she insisted trying to break free of his tight grip.

"Are you sure…when I heard what happened…" Ecklie said as he finally let go of Morgan and held her at arm's length looking up her and down for injury.

"Dad!" Morgan snapped but then softened at the look of pure concern on his face, she could see he'd been very worried about her, he obviously cared. "I'm fine" she repeated a lot less harsher than last time, she gave him a small smile and hugged him again.

"Right suspects are ready for questioning" Brass said approaching the group "Finn you come with me and Sara and Conrad can take the other one"

"What about me and Morgan?" Nick asked annoyed at being left out.

"You guys should go wait in the break room where you're safe, these people do want to kill you after all" Finn pointed out and Nick and Morgan shared a look, they knew they couldn't argue with that.

Just then Brass' phone began to ring "Detective Brass" he answered and listened whilst the person on the other end talked "alright I'll send some people down thanks" he hung up "That was Russell, he and Greg found another body" he explained.

"We'll go give them a hand then" Morgan suggested looking at Nick and he nodded.

"Alright, both take your guns with you now and take Greg his" Sara said knowing full well it would still be in the younger CSI's locker.

"Absolutely" Nick said giving a reassuring smile then he and Morgan went to the locker room.

* * *

Russell and Greg had been doing as much work as they could whilst waiting for the coroner to get there. They had taken plenty of pictures so far and had found some tyre marks on the street. Eventually David arrived along with Nick and Morgan.

"Hey G, how are you feeling?" Nick asked concernedly as a clear purple bruise in the shape of a hand was now visible around Greg's throat. It was a good job he didn't go into the interview room with the guy who strangled Greg or Nick may have well killed him.

"It's gunna be pretty sore for a few days" Greg said his voice still pretty weak, he saw Nick clench his fists at this "but it'll be fine after that" he added hoping to ease Nick's anger.

"Sara said we have to give you this" Morgan said holding out the handle of Greg's gun for him to take.

"Damn, I thought I'd hidden it quite well" Greg said with a smile but when Nick gave him an unimpressed look he took the gun off Morgan and put it in his holster.

"What have we got David?" Russell asked as the three younger CSI's joined him and the coroner. David and Russell had managed to pull the body out and place it on the floor.

"Well I found an ID in her purse" David began to explain "her names Shannon Grayson, age fifty five. This is her house" he said pointing to the building.

"I recognise her" Morgan said "she's one of the people I interviewed."

"Yeah and I took her picture" Greg added.

"Ok so this one actually made it to the party meaning she was killed afterwards" Russell stated.

"Well COD is strangulation as you can see the bruise on her neck. So I'd put the time of death around ten am this morning" David said.

Out the corner of his eye Nick saw Greg raise a hand to his own neck and touch it gently with an expression on his face Nick knew too well. Whilst Russell and Morgan were busy taking photos Nick pulled Greg over to one side to have a word with him.

"You're feeling guilty aren't you?" he asked Greg.

"No…for what?" Greg said. He still had a hand to his neck and wore the same expression.

"Don't lie to me Greg, I know you too well." Nick urged him but still Greg wouldn't admit to anything. "You feel guilty because when this girl and that man were strangled they died and you didn't"

"No…maybe...yes." Greg said quietly.

"Greg you can't feel guilty for being alive." Nick sad placing his hands on Greg's shoulders and looking him in the eyes. "You had Russell there to help you and it was just very unfortunate these victims didn't have any help. We can bring them justice by finding the people who did this and stop anyone else from getting hurt."

"Yeah you're right. Thanks Nick, you always know what to say" Greg said with a smile.

"Call it brotherly instinct" Nick replied with an equal smile before they went over to join the rest of their team once more.

* * *

"Who are you working for!" Brass asked standing up and slamming his hands down on the table, he was growing very impatient.

He and Finn had been with the suspect for ten minutes now in one of the interrogation rooms and all they had managed to get out of him was his name, Leo Jackson. He was the man who had been chasing Nick and Finn and he was refusing to talk. He just sat with a deep frown on his face and his arms crossed on his chest.

"Look _hard man_" Finn said sarcastically "you're already being put away for attempted murder but maybe if you help us out we can pull a few strings and get a few years off your sentence."

The man's frown softened slightly and he looked like he was considering this. "There are two others." He said in his Mexican accent "there's me and Paulo, the other guy you caught. Then there are two others, Kurt who was sent to hit the blond one with his car and Rex, sort of the leader of our group."

"Why are you doing this?" Brass demanded, he couldn't be as calm as Finn was.

"We we're hired, she offered us five thousand dollars each to take the jewellery and then she gave us a list of names. She said every time we killed someone on the list we would get a thousand dollars added to our overall pay" the man explained.

"Who is _she_?" Finn asked getting frustrated by the man tiptoeing around the information they really needed.

"That, I can't say" Leo said, he almost seemed sad about this.

"And why not?" Brass asked sarcastically narrowing his eyes; he had given up playing good cop ages ago.

"She threatened my family" Leo said quietly "I have two small children back in Mexico and I don't doubt her power to hunt them down and have them killed."

"Look if you just tell us then maybe we can…" Finn started but Leo soon interrupted her.

"No!" he said sharply "it's not worth the risk."

"Ok, then I'm going to need your prints, DNA and shoes" Finn said opening her kit.

* * *

"I need to take a sample of your fingerprints, a full handprint, DNA and shoes" Sara informed the man she and Ecklie were talking to, Paulo.

So far he had been very uncooperative and they hoped Finn and Brass were having more luck. The man let out a low grunt and slammed his hand down on the table palm up so Sara could put the ink on it. Sara glared at the man pure hatred seething through her body. He had just tried to strangle someone she loved like her little brother to death so she was really in no mood for his pleading ignorance. She got to work whilst Ecklie continued to try and get him to talk.

Ecklie's phone beeped and he opened it to see a message from Brass "Detective Brass tells me your friend Leo has told him everything except who you guys are working for" Ecklie said clasping his hands together and placing them on the table. "So, who are you working for?"

The man leaned forward, closer Ecklie and clasped his hands together too. "I'd rather you gave me the chair than if I became a snitch" he said quietly and then lent back putting his hands in his pockets.

"That can be arranged" Ecklie said menacingly clenching his fists. Sara could see she best take over.

"Are people being killed randomly or in particular?" she asked sitting back down next to Ecklie.

"They are part of a list…" Paulo said with a deep sigh.

"What list?" Ecklie demanded.

"None of your business" the Mexican answered.

Ecklie stood up at this and slammed his hands on the table "three of my employees might be on that list, one of them being my daughter! So, yes it is my damn business!"

"What time is it?" Paulo simply asked ignoring Ecklie's outburst.

"It's two in the afternoon" Sara told him wondering why he was so interested.

"Then all I will say is you better hurry because these people could be killed anytime. It could be tomorrow, it could be next week. Unless you guys stop them of course."

"Who else is on that list?" Sara asked.

"I don't remember the names" he said, they weren't sure if he was lying or not. "As far as I can remember there were about twenty names last time I checked. Three of them are dead now."

"Well…" Sara said looking at the hand print she had just taken from the man "Your hand is the same size as the one that killed Harry Banks which puts your right in it" she said expressionless "that means you're going away for murder, attempted murder, robbery, withholding police information and being part of an armed gang…anything you want to add before you get take to your jail cell for fifty years?"

"Just that time is going on…and you might want to pick up the pace."


	7. Chapter 7: Concern

**A/N: Thanks Marymel for reviewing as always! And to everyone else for reading :) This chapter Greg is starting to doubt himself again and the CSI's are about to walk into another dangerous situation. **

**Please Review :) xx**

* * *

**Chapter 7: Concern **

Nick and Greg were now looking around the inside of Shannon Grayson's house for any further clues. So far they had established she was most likely single as she only had a single bed and probably no children as there weren't any pictures anywhere. Both CSI's found it sad that this woman had lived and somewhat worse died alone, nobody would have noticed if Greg had not seen her arm.

"So Russell thought it might be a good idea if we stay together a couple of days" Greg said whilst he and Nick were walking around the living room "you know, just until this is over."

"Yeah I was thinking about that actually" Nick said. He wanted to make sure Greg was safe, he would ask Morgan too but he very much doubted she would want to live with two guys. "You can come stay at mine, I have a spare bedroom."

"Cool thanks man, that way we can look out for each other in case of trouble" Greg said.

"Yeah" Nick said but then Greg gave him a funny look as he could see Nick was trying hard to supress a smile.

"What?" Greg asked him raising his eyebrow.

"Nothing" Nick said as if he didn't know what he was talking about, but then he went back to the same expression.

"You're doing it again!" Greg said placing a hand on his hip in annoyance, but then his jaw drop slightly when he realised what was wrong "you don't think you need me do you! You think I'd be useless in a fight! "

"What! No! Greg's that's not what I…" Nick started to protest but stopped when Greg narrowed his eyes at him, he'd never seen Greg look so menacing before.

"You think I'm weak! Like I wouldn't be looking out for you, you'd just be looking out for me!" Greg exclaimed.

"Well I definitely don't think that now you're shouting at me!" Nick defended himself, Greg folded his arms.

"So do you think I'd be able to protect you?" Greg asked him raising an eyebrow.

Nick thought about this for a moment "Well…"

"Oh please Nick the fact you even hesitated says it all! You do think I'd be useless!" Greg said angrily and stormed out the room.

"Greg, wait!" Nick called running after him.

"Just leave me alone Nick!" Greg retaliated as he walked out the house "I don't need you either!"

"Hey, hey" Russell said coming over to them "what's going on?"

"Nick thinks that because he's all muscle he doesn't need me to help protect him and that I'm just poor scrawny little Greg who needs all his battles fought for him because he can't defend himself!"

"Greg come on that's not at all what I think" Nick said grabbing hold of Greg and turning him to face him "I was smiling because you're too…Nice!" he said and Russell and Greg just looked at him like he'd gone insane. "It's not that you're too weak to defend yourself it's that you're too nice" Nick explained "you wouldn't even think of hurting anyone you'd just try and keep calm and use your words to get out of it. You wouldn't just charge in guns blazing like I do, and that's a good thing. It means you're a good person."

"Nice save" Greg said folding his arms "you know…after I was beat up I started to take self-defence classes because I was _sick _of people thinking they could push me around and I felt like such a burden on you guys because you always felt like you had to look out for me…but they clearly didn't work did they otherwise I wouldn't have got myself strangled…"

Now Russell understood why Greg had been so quiet earlier, he felt like a pushover and like he'd let his team down as well as himself. "Greg, I think all we have to do is look at that guys jaw and see that you can take care of yourself" Russell said with a small smile which Greg returned.

"But I wouldn't have been able to do it if you hadn't distracted him first and I hide my gun for god sake! I really am useless" Greg said looking at the ground, Nick knew he was trying to fight the tears.

"Greggo look at me" Nick said placing his finger under Greg's chin and lifting his head "you are not useless ok. I don't feel the _need_ to protect you, I_ want_ to protect you because I love you like a little brother…and I know that might not mean a lot to you because I have so many brothers and sisters I can't name them all…" Greg gave a slight laugh at this "…but it means a lot to me."

"Thanks Nick…you're my brother too" Greg said and wrapped his arms around Nick "I'm sorry for getting so mad"

"It's ok" Nick said gently hugging Greg back "you still coming to stay with me? We can have a Halo marathon on my PlayStation"

"Sounds good" Greg said pulling away and smiling at him.

"Good I'm glad we're all friends again" Russell said clapping both the boys on the back and walking them back down the lawn "so did you find anything useful in the house?"

"No I don't think the murderer broke into to kill her" Nick said.

"Yeah, TOD was around ten am right?" Greg asked, Russell nodded "well then maybe she was taking out the trash when they decided to jump her" Greg said pointing to the trash cans placed at the end of the drive.

"Yes well spotted Greg" Russell said clapping him on the shoulder.

"Are you guys ok?" Morgan asked as she approached them "I thought I heard shouting"

"Yeah they're fine just boys being boys" Russell said and Morgan gave a light laugh "Right have we got everything?" he asked and the three younger CSI's nodded. "Then let's get back to the lab so we can talk to Finn and Sara and see what we know so far."

* * *

"Alright Morgan why don't you kick us off" Russell said. All six CSI's had gathered in the conference room and were sat around the large table.

"Ok…so Nick, Greg and I got to investigate a robbery which has supposedly been called in by the Judge but he denies ever making the call, so one of the robbers must have called the police to let them know, they're playing a game with us" Morgan realised.

"Then Elizabeth Straus is murdered" Julie said placing a picture of the dead girl on the table, she's stabbed to death in her home before she's due to go to the judges party and the killer also leaves the sapphire necklace he stole around her neck. Finger prints on the knife came back to Kurt Hunter" she said placing his picture down next to Elizabeth's "he's one of the gang members for hire."

"Next to be killed is Harry Banks" Sara said placing a picture of the man down on the table "he's strangled to death and thrown off the top of a building which is the apartment block he lived in and he was also killed before the judges party and they left the stolen diamond ring in his pocket. We can confirm he was strangled by Paolo Sanchez" she said placing the picture next to Harrys "it was his hand print on Harry's throat"

"Next we all turn up at the house" Nick said picking up the conversation "Paulo tried to strangle Greg, Leo tries to shoot me and they fail and get brought into custody. However either Rex or Kurt tried to hit Morgan and they are both still at large."

"Then we have Shannon Grayson" Greg said placing her photo on the table "she was killed this morning after the judge's party and left with a stolen gold ring on her finger. She was also strangled either by Rex or Kurt."

"Ok and we now know these three victims were on a list" Russell said and Sara and Finn nodded in confirmation "and there are at least seventeen other people on that list. Morgan how many people were at that party?"

"Fifty give or take a few" she replied and Greg and Nick nodded in agreement.

"Right so we need to find a connection between these three people to explain why these twenty people were chosen specifically. We know they were all invited to the Judges party but there has to be more" Russell said.

"Right and we also know that is was a woman who hired these four Mexican gang members to do her dirty work" Finn added.

"Ok so to sum up. We have two gang members and whoever paid them to find still. Seventeen people's lives could be in danger and we don't know when these killings are going to occur or who is going to be killed" Russell said solemnly.

"So what do we do now?" Greg asked.

"You, Morgan and Nick make sure all the things we collected at the Judge's house earlier and at Shannon Grayson's house get processed. Sara, I want you to give Brass the description of the car that tried to hit Morgan, do you remember the plate?" Sara nodded, she swore on her life she wouldn't forget it "Ok, Finn and I are going to go back to the judges house and see where that secret passage leads. Everyone clear on what they're doing?" the rest of the team nodded "Good then we'll hopefully meet back here in a few hours, good luck everyone" and with those last word's the CSI's split up.

* * *

Morgan, Nick and Greg were working in one of the fingerprinting labs when Henry and Hodges burst into the room.

"Oh Morgan thank goodness you're alright!" Henry said going up and giving her a bone crushing hug.

"Yeah we were so worried" Hodges said pulling Henry off her and hugging her himself.

"Oh erm thanks for being so concerned you guys" she said trying desperately to prise Hodges off her.

"Do you need anything?" Henry asked.

"Should you even be at work?" Hodges chimed in, Morgan just looked away embarrassed.

"Oh we're fine by the way thanks for asking" Nick said sarcastically whilst Greg looked at the lab techs with one eyebrow hitched and his arms crossed.

"Yes, we're glad you're ok too" Hodges said with a roll of his eyes.

"Attention seekers" Henry muttered out the side of his mouth and Nick and Greg looked at each other, their jaws dropping.

"Here, take this stuff" Nick said dumping the evidence in their arms "and get back to work" he said sternly.

The two men gave Nick a disgruntled look before leaving the room when Greg shouted something after them in Norwegian.

"What did you say?" Morgan asked.

"You don't want to know" Greg said shaking his head and going back to work.

* * *

Meanwhile Finn and Russell were back at the Judges house getting ready to go down the trap door with a few officers this time. The officers went down first to check the coast was clear equipped with their torches and guns. Eventually they called up giving the all clear so Russell and Finn dropped down too.

They walked in silence for a while concentrating on not stumbling in the dark. Suddenly Russell put an arm out in front of Finn to get her to stop. She did so and gave him a questionable look, the officers didn't notice and continued walking.

"Do you hear that?" Russell whispered. Finn listened.

"Yeah, there's like a faint ticking noise…sort of like a…" but she couldn't finish her sentence as they both slowly turned their heads to look at each other wide eyed in horror.

"Run!" Russell shouted grabbing hold of Finn and dashing down the tunnel.

"Quick!" Finn said to the officers "we've got to get moving we think there's a…"

There was a low rumble followed by a bang and flying chunks of rock as the CSI's and the officers were blown forward.


	8. Chapter 8: Chase

**A/N: Hey guys! Thank you for reading/ reviews! This chapter was everyone ok after the explosion and Nick and Greg are in for the ride of their lives.**

**Please Review :) xx**

* * *

**Chapter 8: Chase**

"Finn?" Russell asked between coughs as the dust settled.

"DB" he heard his name quietly and he turned to see Finn slumped against the wall; she had blood running down the side of her face.

"Don't move" Russell said as he begin to crawl over to her.

The three police officers they had been with all seemed to be fine and they were checking each other for injury. Russell reached Finn and saw she had a cut on the side of her forehead where a rock must have hit her. He took a handkerchief out of his pocket and held it against the bump to try and stop the blood.

"Thanks" Finn said and took the piece of cloth from Russell she didn't want to feel weak, it was just a cut after all she felt fine. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah" Russell said helping her to her feet "is everyone else ok?" he called and the officers all nodded, they were just a little shaken up.

The explosion had luckily come from behind them so they'd had chance to distance themselves but the passage behind them had totally been blocked as a pile of rocks had now formed so they now had no choice but to continue down the strange and dark path.

"Look!" One of the officers said pointing to the fallen rocks, there was a foot sticking out "there's someone underneath there…but we're all here" he said scanning the group.

"Let's get them out" Russell said as he began to help the three officers remove some of the rubble. There was eventually enough room to pull the man free and Russell shone the torch onto the man's face "Kurt Hunter" he said.

"One of our gang members" Finn said coming to take a look, she bent down and took hold of his wrist "No pulse" she said with a sigh.

"He must have set the bomb and not have been able to escape in time" Russell said "his ankle is twisted so he must have fallen and not have been able to run."

"Whatever is at the other end of this passage, someone really doesn't want us to see it" Finn said. Russell nodded in agreement.

"Come on we better keep moving" he said taking Finns arm "we don't know what else is down here" and with that the five people continued into the unknown.

* * *

Back at the lab Morgan and Sara were testing the tyre mark they had found outside of Shannon Grayson's house. After running it Sara confirmed it came from the same type of car that had tried to hit Morgan. She had given Brass the license plate and he had people out looking for the vehicle.

Morgan also ran the crowbar she he found back at the judges house and found finger prints belonging to Kurt Hunter, she could confirm he had used it to prise the safe open and that the shoeprint Sara found on the drainpipe belonged to Leo Jackson.

After questioning Leo on this he said because he was the smallest of the gang they made him climb in through the window upstairs and let them in from the inside. He had also told them it was Rex who had made the phone call to the police reporting the robbery.

"Shannon Grayson was strangled by Kurt Hunter" Nick said as he and Greg had just come back from autopsy "we ran his fingerprints from the bruise that had formed on her neck to confirm it."

"So basically we know who killed who and how they carried out the robbery but we still don't know who it is who hired these four guys" Greg said, it was that one last annoying piece of the puzzle they really needed to figure out.

"Guys" they all turned to see Brass as he stood in the doorway and seemed to be in a hurry "Ok two things. Firstly, Russell just called he says that Kurt Hunter exploded the tunnel they were in but everyone's ok" he quickly added when he saw the CSI's concerned faces "well…expect for Hunter he was killed. Secondly, someone just called in our vehicle we're looking for on the side of a road, Rex must be with it."

Sara, Greg and Morgan all turned to look at Nick as when Russell wasn't there he was in charge, they could all see Nick's mind working away. "Ok, Sara and Morgan you guys go down to the Judges house and see if you can help Finn and Russell. Greg and I will handle the car."

"Got it" Sara said and left the room in a hurry, Morgan at her heels.

"Cars location" Brass said handing Nick a piece of paper "I'll send some of my guys down to help you"

"Thanks, let's go" Nick said to Greg who nodded and they too left.

* * *

"I see a light!" Finn exclaimed happily, Russell nodded to indicate he saw it to, it was faint but it was there.

They walked eagerly towards it after half an hour of trekking in the pitch black and nearly being blown up of course. It was blinding at first as they stepped outside for the first time. Finn pulled out her sunglasses and Russell shielded his hands with his eyes.

They appeared to have ended up in the middle of some kind of forest. "It's an abandoned rail line" Russell realised as he turned to look at the gaping hole they had just come from.

He then scanned Finn and the officers for injury as it was now easier to see thanks to the daylight. They all appeared to be a little dusty and had a few scrapes and bruises but nothing at all to be worried about. The cut on Finns head had finally stopped bleeding and a lump had formed.

"You ok?" Russell said going over to her and putting his hands on her shoulders "you don't feel dizzy or anything?"

"No I feel fine" she replied honestly giving him a reassuring smile and Russell turned away satisfied.

He sniffed the air suddenly "you smell that?" he asked turning to the others.

"De-comp" Finn said wrinkling her nose in disgust "something is dead around here and it's been like that for a long time."

"I think it's coming from that old shack" one of the officers pointed out in a muffled voice as he covered his nose and mouth with his hand.

The five people began to carefully make their way towards the rickety building they were surprised was still standing. The officers were in front ready to take on anything. The shack had no windows so they could see nobody was inside. All the door needed was a soft push to get it open as the lock no longer worked.

"Oh my god!" the officer in front exclaimed in disgust and backed away. Russell and Finn pushed their way to the front to see what was wrong.

"I think….that's where the smell was coming from" Finn said as she took a picture of the rotting corpse of a dead woman.

"And check this out" Russell said lifting a rug which had been covering something "I don't think magpies did this?" he said referring to the mound of stolen jewellery.

* * *

"Well there's the car" Nick pointed out, it was stationed a lot further from the road than they expected and was hidden amongst some trees. There didn't seem to be anyone inside.

"Where are the cops?" Greg asked as he stopped the car, he was driving.

"I don't know they should be just a few minutes away" Nick said and was about to get out the car when Greg stuck his arm out to stop him.

"Wait a second…" Greg whispered "look!"

Nick looked at the car and he saw what Greg was getting so worked up about. Someone had just sat up in the driver's seat; they must have been lying down asleep. The driver looked in the mirror and spotted the CSI's cars behind him. He started his engine and immediately stepped on the gas speeding forward.

"Hold on!" Greg exclaimed to Nick as he shifted the car into drive and put his foot down too.

They followed the black SUV through the trees. Greg was trying his best to keep the car under control as it was bumping up and down; he'd never driven on such a wild path before. But it turns out he could drive like a manic when he needed to as he skilfully swerved in and out of the trees. Nick had to hold on tight to the side handle, they were going at a hundred miles an hour and he couldn't help but smile at the pure look of determination on Greg's face as he concentrated hard on keeping up with the SUV.

"How did you learn to drive like this?" Nick asked with a laugh as Greg made a very abrupt left turn.

"Please I've been driving since I was fourteen, I've had plenty of practice" Greg said seriously and Nick raised an eyebrow at him, but then he remembered Greg telling him how he'd stole his Papa Olaf's car once, although Nick now suspected it had been more than once.

"These gaps are getting pretty narrow" Nick said as the sides of the car now brushed against the leave of the trees.

"Start shooting out the window" Greg suddenly blurted out as the trees disappeared.

"What?" Nick said, he thought Greg has gone crazy "this isn't some kind of movie Greg!"

"I know but I thought if you just tried to take the tyres out…" he said quietly, Nick rolled his eyes.

"Alright fine" He said taking the window down and half leaning out with his gun gripped firmly in both hands.

It took Nick a few seconds to get use to the window blowing so harshly in his face but after that he took his first shot and as he suspected missed.

"Try and get closer!" he called to Greg and he knew Greg had complied as the car engine got louder.

Nick fired another round but failed miserably it was just so hard to aim going at such as fast pace and the fact the target was moving. Suddenly shots were being fired back at them and there was a smash as one went through the front window. Nick dragged himself back into the car to find Greg trying to drive with just his eyes above the dashboard as he was taking cover from the bullets. Nick took the same position.

Suddenly the gun shots stopped. Nick and Greg shared a cautious look before carefully sitting back up. They looked up just in time to see the SUV they had been chasing leave their sight…

"Greg that's a cliff!" Nick cried out sinking back in his seat.

Greg gasped and pushed his foot down on the brake so hard it was flat on the floor. He turned the steering wheel frantically to the left so the car was drifting sideways but it finally stopped just as they were inches from the edge.

Both men sat in a stunned silence for a while looking straight ahead, Greg was still gripping the steering wheel tight.

"That…was awesome" Greg said turning to look at Nick with a grin and Nick just looked at him like he'd gone insane "but let's never do it again" he quickly added.

Nick opened the door to get out but found he couldn't as the rock from the edge of the cliff was already beginning to crumble from beneath their car. He looked down to see the wreckage of the SUV, it was totally crushed, there was no way the driver could have survived.

"We better get off this edge and try to get down there" Nick said to Greg who nodded and started the car once more.


	9. Chapter 9: Take The Blow

**A/N: Hello! Thanks for reading/ review. This chapter the team finally find out what Is going on but is it too late for Nick and Greg?**

**Please Review :) xx**

* * *

**Chapter 9: Take The Blow **

Sara was driving a little faster than she probably should have been whilst Morgan tried to get hold of Finn or Russell but neither were answering their phones making the girl's worried despite what Brass had told them, maybe they were hurt.

"They have cops with them, try the radio" Sara suggested clutching at straws now, she just needed to hear Russell's and Finn's voices.

Morgan picked up the radio out the glove compartment and prayed it would work "All units this is CSI Brody, I'm trying to get it contact with CSI Russell or CSI Finlay do any of you know their location?"

There was a sickening silence as they waited for a reply but then there was a low crackle and… "CSI Brody this is Officer Denton I'm here with CSI Russell and CSI Finlay" Morgan smiled and Sara gave a deep sigh of relief.

"Where are you guys?" Morgan asked not bothering to talk in code anymore "Sara and I are on our way down to help you"

"Morgan?" said a different man's voice.

"Russell" she said with a relived smile "are you guys all ok?"

"Yeah we're good" Russell said and he explained all about what had happened, where they had ended up and what they had found. "Listen, Finn just found our dead Woman's ID…it's the Judges wife we think she was burned to death, I need you guys to go to Judge Walters house and question him, he never called to say she had disappeared and she's been here at least a week."

"Ok we're on it" Morgan said before putting down the radio.

* * *

Meanwhile Nick and Greg had managed to find their way down the canyon type structure and were climbing some rocks to get to the wreckage of the SUV; Nick had insisted on going first to make sure it was safe. Just as they suspected the driver was dead in the front seat.

"Rex" Greg simply stated looking at the dead man behind the wheel and taking a picture.

"What's that?" Nick said looking at a piece of paper on the dashboard "looks like some kind of address"

"Maybe the next victims?" Greg suggested leaning in through the side window and picking up the piece of paper.

"Or maybe our woman with the motive" Nick said taking the piece of paper and pulling out his phone. "Hey Hodges I need to run this address for me" Nick said and read the words from the paper and waited for a reply "ok thanks" Nick said eventually and hung up.

"So, we got our woman?" Greg asked eagerly.

"Maybe" Nick said "our address is the home of a Penny Mathews."

* * *

Morgan and Sara arrived at the Judges house; they knocked on the door and waited patiently for a few moments but there was no reply. Sara knocked again but this time realised the door was already open. She pressed a finger to her lips and looked at Morgan who nodded. The two women drew their guns from their holsters and started to slowly edge into the house.

"Judge Walter" Sara eventually called as they heard no movement "Las Vegas Crime Lab, we need to talk to you"

Sara started to cautiously edge her way towards the kitchen when she heard a sudden clatter behind her. She spun round ready to shoot but found it was just a ginger tabby cat that had knocked over a vase.

"Jeez you nearly gave me a heart attack" Sara said going over to stroke the cat "do you know what's going on here?"

"Sara, check this out" Morgan said from the living room and Sara entered to see her pick up an envelope that read: _CSI_ on the front. Morgan opened the envelope and started to read form the piece of paper "_I knew you wouldn't stop meddling not even when I tried to have three of you killed. You may have captured two of my guys but revenge will still be mine. I have taken the judge hostage and we are going to have some long awaited fun._ And its signed _P.M_."

Just then Sara's phone began to ring "Sidle" she answered and listened whilst the person talked. "No, hang on a sec" Sara said and turned to Morgan. "It's Greg, he and Nick found an address in our last gang members car, does the name Penny Mathews mean anything to you?"

"Yes!" Morgan exclaimed excitedly "she was one of the people I interviewed at the party. She said she was an ex-girlfriend of the judge and he brought her a bracelet …wait a second…"

"P.M" Sara said realising the same thing as Morgan "she has the Judge, she's the one who's been organising this! Greg listen, the Judge has been kidnapped and we think he might be with Penny Mathews, the kidnapper left a note signed with her initials." Sara waited for Greg' reply "Ok, we'll call some cops to help you and tell Finn and Russell what's going on" Sara said before hanging up the phone. "He and Nick are on their way to the address now" she explained.

* * *

"Greg, are you sure you want to do this?" Nick asked again as they drove to the address.

He really didn't want to purposefully bring Greg into potential danger as he couldn't stand the thought of getting Greg hurt. He remembered last year when they had gone to stop Jason McCann and Greg had insisted on coming despite Nick's pleas to stay at the lab where it was safe. It was the first time Greg had ever been in a situation like that and Nick didn't know how he would handle it.

_Don't even think about it._

Those were the words Greg said to him as he considered handing himself over to McCann as Greg was focused on Nick's safety.

"Yes I'm sure" Greg said determinedly. He knew Nick was worrying about him but he felt he had to do this. One, because he wouldn't let Nick go in there alone and two because he had the severe need to prove himself.

"Great no cops again!" Nick said throwing his hands up in exasperation as they reached the house. It was quite isolated, away from everything else "do these guys even work with us anymore?"

"Well we can't wait" Greg said impatiently "the Judge could be dead by the time they get here" Nick looked into Greg's big brown eyes and he knew Greg wasn't going to let anyone get killed when the two of them could have done something to prevent it.

"You're right" Nick sighed "let's go…but promise you'll stay close to me" he said with a warning look and Greg nodded his head vigorously before they climbed out the car.

Nick pulled out his gun ready to take action; he looked over to see Greg do the same. Nick had a sudden flashback to a younger Greg with his dyed hair, wearing a lab coat and a Hawaiian T shirt smiling broadly as he handed Nick some results. It kind of crushed Nick that those days were long gone as he watched that innocent, defenceless kid he once knew now brandishing a gun, something he never thought he'd see. Maybe Greg didn't need Nick to protect him anymore.

"Nick!" he heard Greg whisper bringing him back from his thoughts "get your head out of wonderland and let's go!"

"Yeah…right" Nick said squeezing his eyes shut and shaking his head to gain focus "come on."

With that he and Greg both started to edge silently towards the front door of the house with their guns raised. They stood either side of the door frame and listened for a few seconds but they couldn't hear any movement from the inside.

"Penny Mathews LVPD open up!" Nick called but there was no reply, he looked at Greg who simply shrugged his shoulders. "Ok…" Nick started "stand back I'm going to…" but there was a loud crack before he could even finish his sentence as Greg kicked the door in. "Or you can do it that's cool" Nick said more than a little shocked to see Greg display such aggression.

"Sorry…" Greg said sheepishly "It's just I've always wanted to do that." Nick gave him a small smile as he once again realised Greg wasn't that crazy kid anymore, but he soon put on his serious face again.

"I'll go first, stay close to me" Nick repeated and Greg nodded before the CSI'S entered the house.

They started to wonder through the living room first but there didn't seem to be any disturbance. It was weird, had they not known she was a murderer and crazy they would have thought Penny was a normal old woman as the way she decorated the rooms gave off the welcoming vibe. The two CSI's stopped to look at each other when they heard a soft thud come from down the hall. Nick made a beckoning motion with his fingers to get Greg to follow him.

Nick took the lead as he saw a door slightly open. He pushed it gently with the tip of his fingers and it slowly creeked open to reveal a stair case.

"Of course it would be in the basement" he head Greg mumble behind him as they cautiously made their way down the stairs.

"Oh no" Nick said as he ran the rest of the way down the stairs Greg following.

The Judge lay dead on the floor with blood streaming down his right side and pooling on the floor as he had fallen off a chair he had been tied to. Greg put his gun down on the floor and went over to the Judge's side and rolled him over.

"Damn it" Greg said in a frustrated tone as he placed two fingers on the Judges bloody neck "he's dead" he said quietly and bowed his head in disappointment as he felt like such a failure. Nick came over and put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Just then they heard someone start to open the door. Nick spun round and pointed his gun at the door. It opened and Penny Mathews entered.

"Who are you?" she exclaimed in shock at the sight of two strange men in her basement. She saw the gun in Nicks hand and whipped one out herself holding it by her side.

"Ma'am please we just want to talk" Nick said trying to keep control of the situation, but the woman was having nothing of it as the fury simply grew on her face.

"No! He deserved it! They all deserved it!" she screamed and she raised the gun ready to pull the trigger aiming it at Nick but Nick was quicker as he pulled the trigger on his weapon.

Click. That was it. No bang as a bullet was fired, just click. Nick went wide eyed in horror. He'd used all his ammo trying to take out the car tyres earlier. Penny Mathews simply gave an evil grin as she pulled the trigger, two bullets were fired.

It all happened so fast.

"Nick!" Greg shouted as he jumped in-between his friend and the bullets.


	10. Chapter 10: In The Balance

**A/N: Thanks for reviews/ reading! To what extent is Greg injured and how will the others react to the shocking news?**

**Please Review :) xx**

* * *

**Chapter 10: In The Balance **

The pain was excruciating as the bullets went straight into the left side of Greg's chest. The pain did not register at first, only when he placed both his hands on the wounds and the blood just started pouring out over his hands. He shook uncontrollably with ragged breaths as he turned to face Nick wide eyed in fear.

Nick didn't have time to register what was going on. The first thing he knew there was a gun pointing at him and he squeezed his eyes tight as he awaited impact from the bullet, but it never came as Greg moved like a blur as he called Nick's name and jumped in-between them. Now Greg was looking at him like it was for the last time as the blood just spilled from his wounds yet Nick was in too much shock to do anything.

"Nick" Greg said in almost a whisper as he started to fall to his knees but Nick quickly snapped out of it and caught him.

Nick sat Greg down on the floor and held him in the cradling position as he ripped the sleeves off his shirt and used the material to put pressure on Greg's wounds. He had forgotten all about Penny still stood at the top of the stairs although she seemed to be in an equal state of shock.

"What the hell did you do that for!?" Nick said to Greg angrier than he probably should be but still he felt the tears welling in his eyes. Why hadn't Greg just let him take the fall?

"'Cause I said…I could…protect you…" Greg said weakly as his eyes began to flutter close.

"Well this isn't exactly what I had I mind!" Nick argued. Greg's eyes were completely closed now. Nick felt his pulse; it was getting weaker by the second.

"Gunna…die…" Greg said weakly as he managed to prise his eyes open once more and look into Nick's. Nick looked at the wounds; the cloth he'd been using was now covered in blood.

"No" Nick said firmly "no you're not going to die" he had already lost Warrick, one of his brothers to a gun wound there was no way in hell he was going loose the other one. "Please, please let me call an ambulance" he begged to Penny who had still not lowered her gun.

"Fine" she said "but I won't be here when they come" and with that she made a swift exit. Nick quickly pulled his phone out his pocket and called for help.

"S'cold…" Greg said quietly even though Nick could feel him burning up but still Nick held Greg closer to his chest hoping to give him some body heat.

"Keep talking to me" Nick said to him "you need to keep distracted"

"I am so going to haunt your ass" Greg said with a small smile and Nick couldn't help but smile too.

"No you won't because you're going to make it" Nick said reassuringly. "You should have just left me Greg. I'm older than you, I'm your big brother and it's my job to protect you."

"and you did" Greg said, it scared Nick how he talked in the past tense "you did for the last twelve years and I have always admired you because of it, now it's my turn to do something for you"

"But I didn't" Nick said he voice was cracking slightly now "I wasn't there when your lab exploded, I wasn't in that alleyway, I wasn't there when your girlfriend tried to kill you even though I knew she was trouble. But you, you were always there, after I got buried, when I had to face Jason McCann. Greg I'm a shit friend and you know it"

"Don't…" Greg said his breaths were getting more ragged "don't say that…it's not true…" They stayed in silence for a few moments. "Morgan has the most amazing smile…" Greg suddenly blurted out "I wish I had told her that."

"Well you can tell her that later" Nick said almost pleading with his eyes for Greg not to give up. Nick himself was now starting to lose faith.

"Ok…but…just in case…say goodbye to them all for me, that includes Catherine and Grissom, Sofia, Riley, Wendy and Mia" Greg said as his big brown eyes once again opened and looked into Nicks. Nick could see them glistening with tears "tell them I love them all."

"What, even Hodges?" Nick said with a small smile, Greg made a weak attempt at a laugh.

"Yeah" he said "even Hodges." He saw a tear escape Nick's eye and begin to roll down his cheek. Greg frowned slightly and reached up and wiped it away with his thumb "don't you start or else I will" he said with a crooked smile.

"Sorry" Nick said he looked down at the wounds once more, blood was now pooling on the floor.

"And I love you Nick Stokes, you're the big brother I always wanted" Greg said placing his hand on Nicks.

"I love you too little bro" Nick said stroking Greg's hair slightly.

"I'll say…I'll say hey to Warrick for you" Greg said with one last small smile as his eyes completely closed and his body went limp.

"G?" Nick said shaking him slightly "No! Greggo please don't do this! You can't do this!" he held Greg closer to his chest and bowed his head over Greg's' sobbing his eyes out. "Please wake up…" he whispered "Please…"

Just then there was a crash as some cops stormed, fronted by Brass, followed by the paramedics.

"Please, I don't think he's breathing!" Nick said immediately moving out the way so the medics could get to work.

He went and stood beside Brass still with tears running down his face. Brass put a comforting hand on Nick's shoulder but he too was pretty shaken up to see Greg in this way. He remembered Grissom telling him after he himself was shot that Greg had stayed at the hospital for hours even though Brass thought the kid wasn't that fond of him. Ever since then he'd had a bit of a soft spot for Greg and considered the kid as much of a friend as he did the rest of the team.

Nick watched in absolute fear as they used the difribullators to try and bring Greg back. He was a little relieved when he heard one of them say it had worked, but it was only very faint and Greg was still in a critical condition.

"I've got to go with him" Nick said in a shaky voice as the medics began to carry Greg up the stairs.

"I know, we caught Penny Mathews as she was trying to leave" Brass told him and Nick frowned, his expression filled with pure rage.

"Good" he said bitterly and quickly followed the paramedics up the stairs.

As he walked out the house Nick saw some cops had hold of Penny Mathews and she didn't even seem sorry for what she had done, that made Nick even angrier.

"You Bitch!" Nick yelled and started to go for her but some officers came and held him back he struggled with them for a while until Brass came.

"Stokes!" Brass said coming and standing in front of him. Nick stopped; he knew Brass was being serious when he called him by his last name. "Please don't get yourself into trouble now" Brass said coming and standing in front of Nick "Greg needs you right now"

The officers let Nick go and with one last look of thanks at Brass he jumped into the ambulance with Greg.

* * *

The four other CSI's sat in the break room waiting for news. When Nick had called for the ambulance they had alerted the cops and they knew Greg was injured but they didn't know how badly. They couldn't go to the hospital now as they knew Penny Mathews was being brought into be questioned and they needed to go and process her house once they were given the all clear.

Russell was sat drumming his fingers on the tables not taking his eyes off his cell phone as they waited for it to ring, praying it would be good news when it did. Finn was looking at him with a worried frown; she'd never seen Russell so on edge before. She was worried too and even though she'd only known Greg a short period of time she'd grown very fond of the kid.

Morgan was near tears and she was trying so hard to fight them, she bit her bottom lip to try and prevent herself from sobbing out loud. She felt like she should have done something even though it was impossible. When she had been kidnapped in that helicopter Greg had done everything in his power to make sure Morgan was ok and all she could do was sit here. Finn placed her hand on top of Morgan's and rubbed it gently, Morgan gave her a small smile.

Sara on the other hand didn't sit with the rest of them, just lent against the counter; she hadn't said a word since they had been told Greg was fighting bullet wounds. Although she had not been there at the time she too had lost Warrick to a gun and she sure as hell couldn't lose Greg as well. She had always felt close to him and he was her little brother.

Russell's phone ringing broke the deadly silence. The others all looked at him whilst he answered. Sara moved to come and sit down at the table then and Morgan noticed Finn's grip on her hand get tighter. Russell didn't really give much away as during the call he simply answered with "mmm" and "yeah" and "ok", all three woman found themselves leaning in slightly once he said thank you and put down the phone.

"It's bad" was all Russell could bring himself to say at first, the woman's' faces dropped in horror "Brass says they already lost Greg once and the pulse they managed to get back is only very weak, he's in critical condition"

Morgan couldn't stop her tears anymore as she turned and sobbed into Finn's shoulder. Sara remained worryingly quiet; she had always been a strong woman but all this was too much.

"Ok guys I know this is tough but we have to carry on with this before anyone else gets hurt. Now we all need to stay strong for Greg." Russell said taking charge whilst keeping his own emotions in check. "Morgan I want you to stay here with me and we'll talk to Penny" he instructed as it was clear Morgan was in no state to go to the scene. "Finn and Sara I need you two to go process Penny's house."

"Alright" Finn said quietly getting up and gently taking Sara's arm and guiding her out the room as she was still in a state of shock.

"He'll be ok" Russell said to Morgan who sniffed a little as she lifted her head "I may have only known Greg a few months but he's a fighter, I can tell."

Morgan gave him a slight smile and she only wished she could believe him.


	11. Chapter 11: Confrontation

**A/N: Hello guys! Sorry it's taken so long to update this story but I got busy with school and writing my other story and trying to think of a good ending for this one but I think I've got it now! So I hope you enjoy as Morgan gets defensive over Greg and evil Penny gets her comeuppance!**

**Please Review :) xx**

* * *

**Chapter 11: Confrontation**

Greg had been in surgery for nearly an hour now. All Nick could do was sit and jig his leg up and down impatiently leaning back and forth as he waited for news. It wasn't looking good. He had lost Greg again in the ambulance and the medics had to use the difribullators again and try to get blood back into Greg's body fast enough, Nick was near enough ready to offer if his own blood if it meant getting Greg back.

When they lost Greg the second time Nick totally freaked and just sat silently shaking, a medic had to come take a look at him afterwards to make sure he hadn't gone into shock, but Nick argued he was fine and all their attention should be on Greg. Flashes of Warrick's bullet stricken body flashed Nick's mind, he couldn't go through all that grief again with Greg.

Nicks eyes would flicker up to the clock nearly every three seconds as he tried to keep track of how long Greg had been in surgery because surely the longer it took, the more likely it was going to be bad news. All Nick could think about was how it was supposed to be him fighting for his life and him going through this pain. Admittedly he was mad at Greg at first because he didn't understand how he could have been so stupid, but Nick could hardly stay mad at the man who saved his life and he knew he would have done the same if the roles had been reversed.

"Are you here for the man with the bullet wounds?" a nurse asked approaching Nick and snapping him right out of his thoughts.

"Greg" Nick said as he jumped out of his seat "His name is Greg…"

"Well Greg is out of surgery now, it seems to have been successful so far but he's still in critical condition and the next few hours are vital" the nurse informed him.

"When can I see him?" Nick asked trying to ignore how dangerous Greg's condition still was.

"He's heavily sedated but you're welcome to sit with him now if you'd like?" the nurse said kindly. Nick nodded; he didn't need to be asked twice.

The nurse led Nick down the corridor and into a private room. Nick hesitated at the door for a moment as he tried to take in the sight before him.

Greg lay motionless with his eyes closed. An oxygen mask was placed over his mouth and nose to help him breath and there were tubes pumping him full of painkillers and antibiotics.

It broke Nick's heart.

* * *

Finn and Sara had arrived at Penny Mathew's house. Finn had decided to keep a very close eye on Sara as she hadn't said a word as they drove over to the house and had only blinked a few times as she stared out the window causing Finn much concern.

Police cars and officers where now surrounding the house. _Where were these guys an hour ago?_ Finn thought to herself with a deep sigh. She stopped the car and got out, Sara doing so a little shakily, she had to grab the frame of the door for balance. Finns look of concern deepened, maybe bringing Sara was a bad idea.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Finn asked the younger woman after she'd got their kits out the trunk of the car. "Just stay outside if you want"

"No, no I'll be fine" Sara tried to quietly reassure herself. She felt some need to do this for Greg and just to make sure they could put Penny away for a long, long time and make her pay for what she did to the man she loved like a younger sibling.

Finn decided to go first wanting to protect Sara from the sight of Greg's blood all the place for as long as possible. They slowly made their way down the stairs to the basement. The Judges body had now been removed and all that remained was the sticky red substance splattered everywhere. There were two distinct pools, the smaller of which belonging to Greg but this did not make the female CSI's feel any better.

"Oh my God" Sara groaned at the sight of it all. She had seen plenty of blood before but never from one of her friends, and Greg seemed so small like he could never have been filled with so much blood.

"Sara I know this is hard but I need you to stay focused alright. I've never grown so attached to someone as quickly as I have you guys and I _know_ that Greg doesn't let things get the better of him. Now you know him better than I do so you should know understand that." Finn said trying to be supportive.

"Yeah he's a fighter alright" Sara said with a small smile. Finn smiled back and they began to focus on the task at hand.

* * *

Morgan and Russell were sat at the table in one of the interrogation rooms as they waited for Brass to bring in Penny. Russell had insisted Morgan stay outside if she couldn't handle it but she refused. After managing to get her tears under control they were replaced by the feeling of pure anger and in some aspects Morgan's own guilt. She had talked to Penny after all and just passed her off as a sweet old woman. Morgan felt if she had acted on her suspicions about the woman sooner than none of this would have happened.

Russell on the other hand remained calm as usual. He had been concerned about Morgan at first but she seemed calmer than before…maybe _too _calm as Russell noted she was lightly touching the handle of her gun at her side. Russell wasn't sure how to feel, nothing like this had ever happened with a team he'd worked closely with before. He just wanted to get Penny sent away and then focus on getting Greg back to health.

There was a slight click as the door opened and Brass entered followed by Penny Mathews and another officer who remained stood at the door. Penny sat lightly down opposite Russell and Morgan. Morgan's eyes narrowed immediately and Russell leaned forward slightly in his chair.

"Look Miss Mathews we already know you did it and organised the whole thing. There's plenty of evidence at your house pointing you towards the judges kidnap and murder, we caught all of your little group of assassins and we have an eye witness telling us you shot Greg. So all we need to know is why" Russell explained plain and simple.

"Because I loved that man with all my heart and he just ripped me apart." She snarled through gritted teeth. "Carl and I first started dating when we we're both at college together in California. Our dorms where in the same building and it was love at first sight. After our first year together he bought me this bracelet" she explained fiddling with the pendant on her wrist, the same bracelet Morgan had asked her about at the party. "I had lost a lot of my friends over that passed year because I had been dedicating all my time to Carl and my parents didn't approve of him either so I finally stopped talking to them…"

"So when exactly did you turn into a psychopathic bitch?" Morgan asked bitterly and Russell gave her a look indicating she needed to back off.

Penny simply laughed "Feisty aren't you for such a pretty young thing. You seemed so sweet before" she said with a small smile. Morgan scoffed in disbelief.

"Alright Miss Mathews please just stick to the subject at hand" Russell urged also going impatient with this Woman's games; she had already caused enough pain and stress.

"We'd been together two years when he dropped the bombshell on me" Penny continued her story still fiddling with the bracelet. "He was moving to Vegas in order to become a judge and to start a fresh because he'd met someone else…his skank of a wife" Her grip tightened on the bracelet. "I devoted myself to him and lost everyone else I cared about because of it… I wanted to make him feel the same pain."

"So those twenty people you selected to be killed…you felt they were the Judges closest friends and relatives so it would hurt the most, that's why you chose them?" Russell questioned.

Penny nodded. "Yes…and then when I found out your three little spies were actually CSI's I thought I best get rid of them too. I don't like to be deceived and I knew you couldn't be a real reporter" she said looking coldly at Morgan.

"People fall out of love all the time" Morgan replied bluntly "that does _not_ give you the right to go around killing and wounding innocent people"

"Wounding?" Penny repeated ignoring everything else Morgan had said. "The boy is still alive then…" she said as if it was a very curious thing. Morgan was just about ready to snap. "I must say I've never seen anything so brave" Penny continued sounding distant "Yes…brave but very, _very _stupid.

That was the last straw.

"Greg is not stupid!" Morgan yelled standing up and slamming the palm of her hands down on the table.

"Morgan calm down" Russell said gently. He had to put an arm out in front of her to stop her from lunging across the table and strangling Penny to death.

"You are _very_ defensive of lover boy…" Penny said with a smile, she was obviously pleased with how easily she was managing to manipulate Morgan. "He'll just leave you broken hearted sweetie, it's best if he's out your life for good. I nearly did you a favour…"

Morgan could have shot her right there and then, but she didn't because she knew if she let Penny get to her then Penny had won. Instead she took a deep shaky breath said as bitterly as she could "I hope you rot in hell" and then stormed out the room no one trying to stop her.

"You are a piece of work" Russell said now turning rather bitter himself, very unusual for him. "People like you make me sick."

"Why'd you have them steal the jewellery?" Brass suddenly jumped in trying to regain control of the situation. Penny remained silent. "Just tell me so I can lock you up and throw away the key" he snapped.

"Because it was rightfully mine." She said as if it was obvious. "I was supposed to be Carl's wife and therefore all that jewellery was rightfully mine. I asked them to leave a piece behind with each body just as little souvenir." She said with a satisfied smile. "I lost everything because of that man and it was only fair he did too. He but his career before me and just dropped me when it best suited him."

"That's all we need" Brass said bluntly. "Take her away" he instructed the officer who lifted Penny from her seat and marched her out the door. "You ok?" Brass asked Russell as soon as they were alone.

"I will be" Russell replied sternly "we all will be as soon as we know Greg is ok…"


	12. Chapter 12: Kiss It Better

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews/ reading! It's the last chapter. Will the guys get their fairy tale ending?**

* * *

**Chapter 12: Kiss It Better**

Nick had been sat with Greg nearly all night. He still had a lot of breathing apparatus on him but the doctors said his blood level was back to normal. _How many times?_ Nick thought_ how many times am I going to have to sit with him in hospital when he seems so broken? _The only thing keeping Nick sane was the sound of Greg's heart rate monitor staying at a normal, steady pace. Eventually Nick had grown tired and found himself falling asleep despite his mind protesting.

It was around four o'clock in the morning when Greg slowly started to come round. His eyes flickered at first as he tried to accustom to the dim light. As soon as he opened them though the pain came rushing all round his body and he screwed his eyes shut in complete agony. Then he started to panic as he realised something was covering his mouth and nose. At first he thought it was suffocating him but then he realised it was actually the thing helping him breath.

He slowly lifted his arm and gently moved the oxygen mask round to the side of his face. He turned his head painfully to the right to see Nick sat asleep with his head resting on the bedside table, it didn't look very comfortable.

"Nick…" Greg croaked, the amount of pain he was in was being expressed in his voice. His throat felt very dry. He was too quiet as Nick showed no sign of hearing him.

He saw Nick's hand was laid on the bed beside him so he slowly moved his own to lay it on top of Nick's and gave it a squeeze. Nick automatically snapped awake at this nearly hitting his head on the lamp as he did so. Greg was surprised such a small thing could get such a quick reaction; Nick had obviously not been allowing himself to sleep properly in case something happened.

"Nick" Greg groaned again, the pain was getting worse.

"Yeah buddy I'm here" Nick said with a smile grabbing hold of Greg's hand. He felt like he could have cried with joy. "Oh thank God, thank God you're awake"

"Pain…" Greg said, his voice getting quieter "So…so much pain" his breaths were getting deeper and harsher as his face screwed up in a grimace.

"Ok I'll sort it" Nick said as he buzzed for a nurse. "Here man you need to put your mask back on" Nick said protectively as he moved it back round to cover Greg's mouth and nose.

The nurse came in and Nick explained how Greg was complaining of pain and she said she'd give him some more painkillers. Nick tried to move out the way but Greg's arm shot up and grabbed hold of Nick's wrist. Greg shook his head frantically as if he was begging Nick not to leave. Nick immediately sat back down and Greg kept a firm grip of his wrist until he once again fell asleep as the painkillers kicked in.

After that Nick did not sleep, just waited for Greg to come back round. It had broken him even further when he saw how much pain his little brother was in and he couldn't help but think about how it should be him lying in that hospital bed suffering. He had been trying to think of a way to make it up to Greg and show him how grateful he really was. Maybe he could try and convince Morgan to go on a date with him. That would just make Greg's world.

It was about five hours after Greg had first woken up when he did so again.

"You're still here?" Greg said removing the mask surprised to find Nick reading a newspaper he'd managed to get hold of. "Man, you didn't have to stay."

"Of course I did" Nick said putting down the paper and looking Greg in the eyes. "You're one of my best friends I had to make sure you were alright. Besides, it's my fault you're here."

"What? No! No it's not" Greg protested. He tried to push himself into an upright position but got about half way before whimpering in pain and falling back down. Nick immediately jumped up and helped him sit upright. "It's that witch Penny's fault" he continued after getting comfortable.

"Who we caught and is going away for a very long time by the way" Nick informed him, Greg sighed in relief. "But that doesn't make me feel any less guilty."

"Nick, please" Greg sighed. He knew Nick would do this to himself and he didn't want him to feel that way. "I know that you would have done the same for me."

"Yeah of course I would, just as long as you know that" Nick said with a smile. "Man you scared the hell out of me, I already lost Warrick; I couldn't bear the thought of losing you too."

"Well I'm not going anywhere now, promise" Greg said outstretching his arms and Nick gave him a quick hug not wanting to hurt him. "

Right, I better call the others and tell them you're awake. They've been so worried." Nick says.

"Well I should hope so!" Greg said with a laugh and then Nick left to make the calls.

* * *

As soon as Morgan had received the call from Nick she immediately went and grabbed Russell before practically dragging him out of the lab. They went straight to the hospital and ran down the corridors looking for Greg's room. Neither of them would quite believe Greg was ok until they saw it for themselves.

They skidded to a halt when they saw Greg through the window. He was sat happily talking to Nick with a broad smile on his face.

"Greg!" Morgan exclaimed happily as she ran over and flung her arms around Greg's neck.

"Whoa, steady on Morgs" Greg said with a laugh but he hung onto her all the same. "I missed you too"

"Don't ever, ever scare me like that again!" she said pulling away and rubbing the tears from her eyes, they were tears of happiness.

"Well now we're even" Greg said taking hold of Morgan's hand and squeezing it tight "It nearly killed me when I found out you'd gotten yourself kidnapped!"

"I did not get myself kidnapped!" Morgan said gently nudging him in the shoulder.

"It's good to see you awake kid" Russell said smiling at Greg.

"Good to see you too boss. How are you and Finn after the explosion? Boy I know what that feels like" he said with a smirk.

"We're good thanks. Her and Sara are on their way" Russell explained. No sooner had he said that did the two other CSI's enter the room.

"Hey Greg" Sara said quietly and went to give him a hug. Russell had called to tell her the news and she felt like yelling thank you to the world. Her little brother was going to be ok and for that she'd be eternally Grateful.

"How are you feeling?" Finn asked also happy to see the kid awake. Greg was the first CSI she had worked with when she got to Vegas and she found he was very easy to become attached too.

"Better thanks, morphine is a beautiful thing" Greg said and they all laughed.

They all stayed and talked for a while before Russell pointed out there was no one actually at the lab to solve crimes. He, Sara and Finn would go back and he insisted Nick go home and get some proper rest. Morgan would stay with Greg, not because she felt she needed to but because she genuinely wanted to.

"Hey…Morgan" Greg started as soon as they were alone. She smiled her sweet smile to show she was listening. "There's something I kind of promised Nick I'd tell you if I made it out of this."

"Oh, What's that?" she asked curiously.

"That I think you have the most beautiful smile in the world and it just makes all my troubles go away" he said in a serious manner and his deep brown eyes met her sea blue.

"Oh…wow…" she said slightly taken aback by this comment. From day one she had considered Greg Sanders a good friend, but nothing more…that was up until recently however. "Thank you" She said as the exact smile Greg was talking about appeared across her face. "You know…" she started slowly as she took hold of Greg's hand and their fingers laced together "asking me out to dinner sometime might be nice"

"Morgan Brody… will you have dinner with me?" Greg asked in a manner almost as if he was proposing. Morgan laughed.

"Yes, yes I will have dinner with you" she said playing along and before they both knew it their lips were pressed against each other's.

It felt right.

* * *

Nick was walking behind Finn as they headed out towards the parking lot. He had been battling with these emotions for days now and he knew he had to act upon them. He thought about what Greg had said about wishing he'd told Morgan about her smile, how he'd felt when the thought it was too late. Nick couldn't let it get too late.

"Finn!" he called and the woman turned round to look at him her wavy hair flicking round and her brown eyes solely concentrating on Nick. "I never… I never got to thank you properly before, for what you did when we were in that tunnel…" he said.

"Oh, Nick you don't have too…" she started to insist but was cut off when Nick put a hand on the back of her head and pulled her in for a kiss. They stayed like that for a few moments as Finn put her arms around his neck. "I think that was the best thank you I've ever gotten" she said with a wide smile as they pulled apart.

"I'm glad you think so" Nick laughed as he put an arm across her shoulders and their fingers laced together as they began to walk to the car.

It felt right.

* * *

**OMG how cheesy was that XD Hehe I know I said this wouldn't turn into a romantic story but I thought a little at the end couldn't hurt. I told you I totally ship Finicky! And I like a bit of Branders as well ;)  
Special Thank you too Smuffly and ****Marymel** **who I know have been following this story all the way through. Hope you liked it guys :D xx**

**Lil Badger 101 xx **


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